FBI identify roommate in OU blast case

The Daily Oklahoman reports that the FBI has identified the roommate of Joel Hinrichs and, for at least a short time, had him in custody.

The FBI also looked at possible ties to Islamic groups after learning Hinrichs’ roommate is from Pakistan, attended a nearby mosque and worked for the OU athletics department, The Oklahoman has learned.

Hinrichs and the roommate, Fazal M. Cheema, a finance major, lived together only a few months at Parkview Apartments.

Cheema and three other Muslim students were led, handcuffed, from a party by police after the blast, said Ashraf Hussein, president of the Muslim Student Association. They later were released.

Cheema is “a really, really nice guy,” Hussein said. Cheema could not be reached for comment.

Hinrichs' father has weighed in on the speculation that his son had become an Islamic extremist.

“Joe would have become a Muslim fanatic when pigs fly,” the father said.

Further details from the report:

His father and friends said Hinrichs was not a football fan and would not have attended the game ordinarily. Boren said the FBI was reviewing tapes from inside and around the stadium.

“Up to this point in time, no one has seen him trying to get into the game,” Boren said.

One OU senior, Adam Smith, of Oklahoma City, however, said a stadium guard Saturday night told him “a guy had sprinted off” outside Gate 6 after refusing to let his backpack be searched.

There have been reports Hinrichs had a backpack with him when the bomb went off.

In the interest of objectivity, the vast majority of college students these days carry either backpacks, laptop bags, or both.

For earlier posts today on the OU Blast Case see HERE.