All language subtitles for How It Really Happened s08e06 The Atlanta Olympic Bombing 1.eng

[audio logo]

Oh, yeah.

You having a good time?

[cheering]

Oh, yeah.

[explosion]

JIM BACON: We heard
a tremendous blast,

and all of a sudden
all chaos ensued.

Everybody started running.

RICK SCHWEIN: He set the thing
up to hurt people in a mass way.

[crowd clamoring, whistle]

MARK MCKAY: We don't
know if that person

is going to strike again.

[blows whistle] Let's go!

MARK MCKAY: Who did this?

Is it part of a strategy
or is it a singular event?

We didn't know any of that.

[theme music]

Hello, and welcome to
How It Really Happened.

I'm Jesse L. Martin.

In the summer of 1996, all
eyes were on Atlanta, Georgia

for the Centennial Olympics.

The southern city put on quite
a show for the opening ceremony

as Muhammad Ali lit
the Olympic flame.

But just eight days later, at a
celebration in Centennial Park,

a security guard noticed
a suspicious backpack

under a bench.

Security and law
enforcement moved quickly

to evacuate the massive crowd,
but time was not on their side.

This is how it really happened.

[indistinct chatter]

It's a weekend
night in Atlanta.

It's hot.

The streets are packed.

[groovy music]

There is entertainment
at Centennial Park.

The beating heart at
night of the Olympics.

(SINGING) Something about you

Driving me crazy

They had music
playing, bands coming in.

They had food in the park.

I would say probably
40,000, 50,000

people in the park that night.

Very festive evening.

People partying.

This is where the party's at.

Party of the century.

I was a reporter/anchor, part
of the Olympic team for CNN,

and we made our way through
the park on the outer edges.

I was hustling.

We're about 10 minutes before
the broadcast starting.

We have security teams that
are working through the crowds,

watching for anything
out of the ordinary.

We're taking all the
precautions we can.

TOM DAVIS: I was making my
last pass through the park.

And as I was walking up
the sidewalk right there

by the NBC Tower, I was
approached by a young man

named Richard Jewell.

Richard was assigned as a
security guard for that tower.

Richard Jewell had
spotted this backpack,

military model backpack.

Placed underneath
the bench that was

directly in front of the tower.

He had handled a number
of suspicious bags

in the park over
the previous days,

and we just tried to identify
if anybody owned the bag.

And that's what
Richard and I did.

And, of course,
nobody claimed it.

I called it in to
our command post

and told them that we
had a suspicious bag,

and they dispatched our
bomb diagnostic team.

And the evaluation team
looked at the knapsack,

and got a glimpse on the inside.

And then, they backed up from
the bag and told me at that time

that it did look
suspicious and that they

had called for a bomb squad.

So in the meantime,
we were in the process

of trying to set up a perimeter,
to evacuate the immediate area.

But as we're moving
people from that area--

[explosion]

Whoa.

--there was an
explosion behind me.

I was only standing
about 18 yards from it.

It was a very forceful blast.

A lot of heat, and
it just completely

forced me to the ground.

Believe me, it was a bomb.

Right, right, right.

Let's go, please.

I felt it--

felt to go through me.

I felt it in my chest.

It was pretty jarring.

I looked at my producer,
Mike, and said,

that was a heck of a
way to end the show,

thinking positively that
maybe that was pyrotechnics.

He immediately said, no, I think
something bad just happened.

[whistle]

[crowd clamoring]

I looked up and I saw smoke.

Smoke was rising from
the front of the venue.

Security guards were
saying, get out, get out.

[whistle]

TOM BACON: The police
and everyone started

yelling, get down, get down.

There's a bomb.

People started just running,
running out of the park as fast

as they could.

We made a beeline
down the street,

up the stairs, got in
front of the camera.

PRESENTER: This is
CNN Breaking News.

We have had word
now of an explosion

at the Centennial Olympic Park.

We're going to go now to Mark
McKay, who is live at Nike park.

Mark.

In the vicinity of
about 10 minutes ago,

there was a loud, very
concussive explosion

that occurred right
in the vicinity

of the AT&T Global Village.

That is the building that you
see right over my shoulder here.

There were a good number
of people in the park.

There was a band playing.

We actually were making our way
through the park from CNN Center

to get to this location
when the explosion occurred.

I saw the sense of
panic to get out.

It turned serious very fast.

It was very loud.

It made you wince.

It made you wince when you
heard it, and a lot of people

just had a very startled look.

And immediately as
we reached the gates,

they were hustling people
to get out of the park.

JIM BACON: Right now, we've
got thousands and thousands

of people evacuating the area.

The police moved
in very quickly.

And as far as we know now,
from eyewitness accounts,

we've got some injuries.

I remember very distinctly
the smell of gunpowder.

I don't think I'll
ever forget that.

Oh, yeah.

You having a good time?

[cheering]

Oh, yeah.

[explosion]

Whoa.

JIM BACON: Right now, it is just
an absolutely chaotic scene,

and millions of people here
are running up the street,

and the police are running in.

I can't personally see
anybody that's hurt,

but several eyewitnesses
have told me

varying accounts of injuries.

And the accounts
that I have heard

make it sound like the
injuries are indeed serious.

[ominous music]

I looked around,
people were screaming,

many injured, laying around.

JIM BACON: A policeman
was hit with shrapnel

and was bleeding
profusely on the ground.

A number of other people in
the area here have been hit

and are hurt.

TOM DAVIS: We just tried
to deal with that situation

the best we could.

Going person to person
trying to determine

the severity of their injuries.

And as we were doing that, one
of them was just laying there,

and she wasn't moving.

And when I walked
up to her, I just

put my fingers down
on her carotid artery

just to check to see if I could
get a pulse, and I got nothing.

[sirens wailing]

Numerous emergency vehicles
are now descending on the scene.

We're seeing ambulances
and a lot of fire units,

and the area seems
to be certainly being

sealed off as
investigators get in there

and tend to the injured.

[sirens wailing]

It is very chaotic.

You have people
down, people wounded.

We were walking
down the street.

Boom.
Big explosion.

The guy-- girl's
leg got blown off.

SURVIVOR: It felt
like it was gonna--

oh my God, dude.
- It felt like an--

SURVIVOR: There's,
like, people were hurt.

--earthquake.

TOM DAVIS: Medical people
got there very, very quickly,

and started dealing
with the injured people.

[blows whistle] Let's go!

Come on.

TOM DAVIS: So we
were just trying

to make sure that
they all got loaded

up and carried to the hospital.

[blows whistle]

REPORTER: What blew up?
What blew up?

A car?
A truck?

I'm not sure.
It had to be--

all I know is I heard
wah and kabuck, you know?

Just like a big pipe bomb.

Damn, something just hit me.

The sound itself was more than
any earthquake I've ever heard,

and it actually
shook the ground.

There's people
just running out.

I mean, terrified.

People crying and
people were injured.

Back up!

Back up!

Back-- back up!

Back up!

CNN was putting things
on live almost immediately.

So for people to see
footage of a bombing

almost instantly after it
happened was startling.

People use the term war zone.

Imagine it's dark.

Every kind of red
and blue light.

The park has been sealed.

Emergency units from ambulances
to fire units, paramedics

have arrived on the
scene, along with a number

of law enforcement agencies.

We started getting more and
more witnesses that were nearby

and starting to hear about the
amount of injuries, the shrapnel

that went everywhere.

It was like standing
next to heavy artillery

when it goes off, is the
best way I could describe it.

We were about two minutes
away from the stage.

You know, right,
almost at the stage.

And it was just--
it was just boom.

It was so loud it rang
our ear-- my ears.

CNN has been able to confirm
through just talking with law

enforcement officials here
in the city of Atlanta

that there is at least one
confirmed death and at least 38

confirmed injuries.

TOM DAVIS: Alice Hawthorne, who
was there with her daughter,

was killed by a
piece of shrapnel.

A Turkish cameraman dies
running to the scene.

KITTY PILGRIM: Law enforcement
officials believe, we are told,

that it was a bomb that
exploded at around 1:20 this

morning Eastern
time at the heart

of the Olympic Centennial Park.

When it happened, it seemed
very shocking to everyone,

and especially such an
iconic event as the Olympics.

Our role as part
of an FBI SWAT team

was to lock the village
down, protect the athletes.

The concern was, would
there be an attack

in the Olympic Village?

Is this part of a larger scheme?

The park was closed.

It was a crime scene,
and they brought

in a lot of federal agents
from the ATF and from the FBI

and from the GBI.

And together, they
worked the crime scene.

Centennial Park becomes
a cordoned off area.

And then, the bomb
techs came in,

and they were sweeping
through the area

slowly, carefully,
marking evidence,

bagging where necessary.

[sirens wailing]

In the immediate
aftermath of the bombing,

all personnel that
had been designated

to the forward
command post set up

protocols for
collecting evidence,

identifying witnesses,
and coordinating

other response personnel.

We go to the hospital and
start interviewing people

about what had happened,
what they had seen,

what they had heard.

Well, we start
interviewing business owners,

looking for whatever they might
have to help the investigation,

you know, whether
it be videotapes

or people that might
have come or gone

overnight and seen anything.

It's hectic, but
it is controlled.

We've had a lot of
planning, a lot of training,

and all that kicks in
in the first few hours.

[pensive music]

The first person to catch
sight of the suspicious knapsack

that turned out to
contain the bomb

was security officer
Richard Jewell.

Mr. Jewell is joining us
from our studio in Atlanta.

I spotted the bag lying on
the ground under the bench.

And then, once we actually
determined that it there

was a suspicious item, we
tried to get as many people

out of the area as we could.

But we got about 150
people off the grass

area right directly in front
of the bomb before it exploded.

[explosion]

Whoa.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I
have your attention, please?

We did a press
conference in the morning.

At approximately
1:25 AM this morning,

an explosive device detonated
in the Centennial Park downtown.

At this point, we understand
that we have 110 injured

and two people who have died.

At approximately 1:00 A.M.
also, the Atlanta Police

Department received a 911 call.

The individual is, we
believe, a white male with

an indistinguishable accent.

CALLER (ON PHONE): There is
a bomb at Centennial Park.

You have 30 minutes.

The bomb had gone off within
15 or 20 minutes of the call.

[explosion]

We were wondering if it
was a setup, particularly

when it went off early.

[sirens wailing]

Is he targeting
second responders,

knowing that they might
be around that bomb,

trying to render safe?

The motives of the bomber
at that point, I don't think

are clear to any of us.

If you're just joining
us or just now hearing

about the explosion at Atlanta's
Centennial Olympic Park

overnight, two
people were killed.

The FBI reports at least
110 people injured,

but, of course, those reports
will vary as reports are coming

in from different hospitals.

We will spare no
effort to find out

who was responsible
for this murderous act.

We will track them down.

We will bring them to justice.

We will see that
they are punished.

We cannot be intimidated
by acts of terror.

As tragic as it was--

and it was very tragic--

the decision was made to
continue with the Olympic games.

There's an element
of, we're not

going to give in to terrorism.

[pensive music]

I was assigned
to work the crater

area where the bomb blew up.

I found a-- fragments
of what appeared

to be some kind of a
backpack and a metal plate.

I saw two Eveready Energizer 6
volt lantern battery fragments

from two different batteries.

There were parts of a timing
device, a mechanical timer,

which kind of gave investigators
a clue as to how that device

functioned by a time delay.

TOM BUSH: There were cut nails
laying around on the ground.

These were added for shrapnel
effect to fly through the air

and kill people.

KITTY PILGRIM: We did hear quite
early on that the bomb had been

designed to cause the largest
number of injuries with nails

and directed blast to
cause real human hurt.

FEMALE REPORTER 1:
Doctors say shrapnel

injured many of the more
than 100 patients treated.

DOCTOR: Some metal,
perhaps some glass.

We don't know.

That's gonna have
to be determined

as the pieces are
removed and as any X-ray

activity goes on as well.

FEMALE REPORTER 1: Doctors say
injuries range from minor cuts

to more serious chest
and abdominal wounds.

If you could picture a
military-style backpack about

as full as you could
fill it up, that's what

this bomb looked like in size.

There were three pipe bombs that
were mounted onto a steel plate,

directing the blast in
a particular direction.

There were an additional
several pounds

of nails added as shrapnel.

This device was 40
pounds of pipe bombs,

and it gave you the feeling
that we're not dealing

with, you know, a rookie.

RICK SCHWEIN: Those
early hours are really

important because you're trying
to preserve forensic evidence,

you're trying to
identify a good timeline,

you're trying to
determine who did this.

And is it a lone actor
or is it a group?

Are there gonna be
follow on attacks?

Is it part of a strategy
or is it a singular event?

And we didn't know any of that.

[tense music]

The samples were taken, given
to the guy in charge of the FBI

team, and he sent
those to Washington, DC

to be analyzed to
identify the explosive.

MALE REPORTER 1: While the
FBI waits for lab results.

Federal agents are
working on a timeline,

trying to figure
out the 911 call.

It was made from a public
telephone close to the park,

and we were trying to
identify where that phone was

and who might have been able
to see who was making the call.

Remember, two different things
were happening at the same time.

In the park, Richard Jewell
had spotted a backpack.

And what they don't
realize is that there's

been a 911 call,
warning that there's

a bomb in Centennial Park.

That information
never gets to them.

CALLER: There is a bomb
in Centennial Park.

You have 30 minutes.

It didn't make it to
us at our command post.

MALE REPORTER 2: According to
police department transcripts,

there was a 10 minute delay in
dispatching police after the 911

call due to bad
phone connections,

jammed lines at the
police command center,

and a frantic search
for the park's address.

It's always the small
things that create problems.

The address for
Centennial Park had

not been incorporated
into the 911

communications center database.

DISPATCHER: OK, wait a minute.

Centennial Park.

You put it in and
it won't go in?

OPERATOR: No.

Unless I'm spelling
Centennial wrong.

How are we spelling Centennial?

DISPATCHER: C-E-N-T-E-N-N-I-A-L.

OPERATOR: I'm spelling it right.

It ain't changing.

Centennial Park is not going.

TOM DAVIS: If we had had the
911 call when it came in along

with a suspicious
bag, I think that we

may have been able to
create a larger perimeter.

There would have been a more--
more of a sense of urgency

on our part, but we just
didn't have the benefit

of that information.

Welcome back to
How It Really Happened.

The search is on for
whoever planted a bomb

in Centennial Olympic Park.

Richard Jewell, the man
who discovered the bomb,

was initially hailed as
a hero for saving lives,

but within days,
the FBI receives

a tip and the investigation
takes an unexpected turn.

[pensive music]

I'm glad he spotted it,
because if we had to move

the people away that were seated
directly in front of that bag,

we'd have had a number
of deaths in the park.

Him spot in that bag and then
us dealing with it as we did--

he saved lives that night.

JEANNE MESERVE: Do you
feel you did all you could?

Yes, ma'am.

The only thing I wish
we could have done

was got everybody
out of the area.

I feel for the victims
and their families.

And it's a very, very bad
thing, and I just hope that we

catch the people that did it.

This seemed like a hero.

And he was the hero.

That's the important
thing to remember.

He was the hero of this story.

He was flattered.

I mean, he's a regular person.

He wants to talk, but
he doesn't want to talk.

He doesn't feel all that
comfortable with everybody

saying he's the hero when there
were many heroes that day.

At the bomb site in
Centennial Olympic Park,

investigators spent the
day sifting for clues.

Authorities tell CNN there
could be an arrest in just days.

After we get done analyzing
an explosive device,

you try to make a
mock up of the device

so you can more understand it.

You want to be able
to reconstruct the bomb.

This is the size
of the pipe bomb.

This is the size of the
battery that was used.

This is the type of clock
timer that was used.

We have a bomb database.

ATF has one.

FBI has one.

They are actually connected
where they can say,

hey, here's some
of the components

that we're looking at.

Do you have anything like this?

WOODY JOHNSON: Of
course, we are looking at

and thinking about
every group that could

be the source of the terrorism.

And after the phone call,
we're slowly concluding,

but leaving the door open
that it's an American

either operating by
himself or with a group.

We also are running a
tip line, and receive

several hundred calls.

We had three different
major groups of tips--

two White Militia groups,
and then the third

were providing information
about Richard Jewell.

The president of
Piedmont College, which

is one of the places Richard had
worked before, he calls the FBI

and he says, you know, I had
some problems with this guy.

You might want to take
a look because Richard

had been overzealous in
his enforcement duties.

He was stopping students.

He was stopping faculty.

He was doing it by the book.

He was a little bit
of a pain in the ass,

and that eventually, you know,
got him pushed out from his job.

With all of the
pressure on them,

they dug deeper and deeper.

They saw things that they
thought were suspicious.

Richard Jewell was
described as a wannabe cop.

He was described as
being really aggressive

on this particular
college campus where he'd

been a campus police officer.

He'd had some trouble,
failed employment

with other law enforcement.

So when you put these
things together, it's like,

all right, this is a guy we
probably need to take a look at.

And the FBI goes back and they
look at the CNN interview again,

and they're convinced that
he was self-aggrandizing.

He was trying to
pump himself up.

I was in law enforcement
before I got this job.

I've been in law enforcement
for six years in Georgia,

and I just came down to
Atlanta to do the games.

And you have to understand
that there's a context for this,

which is that during
the LA Olympics,

there had been a bomb scare, and
the guy who finds the bomb was

a guy who had planted the bomb.

And he had been in
law enforcement,

so now the FBI'S playbook is,
well, some dude did it in LA.

Maybe some dude
did it in Atlanta.

And it just snowballs.

[tense music]

We get a call from somebody
over at the Atlanta Journal

Constitution, and
the guy says, we're

about to run a special
edition, extra edition,

naming Richard
Jewell as a suspect,

and we want to send
you over a copy.

The information gets
leaked that he's a suspect.

There are these guys running
around with newspapers.

And out of the corner of
my eye, I see the headline.

FBI Suspects "Hero Guard
May Have Planted Bomb."

Well, I know damn well
who the hero guard is.

I just can't
freaking believe it.

He was praised as a hero for
spotting a suspicious knapsack

in Atlanta's
Centennial Olympic Park

and for helping
evacuate some people

before its contents exploded.

But now, Richard Jewell,
the Olympic security guard

who spoke openly
to CNN and others

about the events
of last Saturday,

reportedly is himself a
suspect in the bombing.

How did that all come
together as quickly as it did?

Made those of us who
don't know police work

and don't know detective work
say, wow, that was quick.

MALE REPORTER 3: Do you have
any way of knowing why they

would consider you a suspect.

Mm, no, I have no idea.

MALE REPORTER 4: Did you do it?

[scoffs] No, sir.

I didn't do it.

We went over to his house and
said, we want to interview you.

And he said, can I
come to the office?

We decided to try to bring
him out by telling him

we're gonna make
a training video

and we need his experience
on tape so that we can use it

in the future, and
just try to see

while two agents are
interviewing him,

talking with him.

And we thought, well, if
he's involved in this thing,

you know, his ego might
eventually incriminate him.

I call the FBI headquarters.

I'm Watson Bryant.

I'm Rich Jewell's lawyer.

I understand you have him down
there and I want to talk to him.

They said to me,
we don't have him.

They're telling me he's
not there when he is there.

So I called them back, and this
time they connect me to him.

I ask him what he's doing.

He's telling me he's helping
them with a training film.

I ask him has he
seen the newspaper.

He says he is not.

And then, I read
him the headline.

All I want to know
is, is he free to go?

Is he under arrest?

No, he's not under arrest.

So he's free to go?

Yes, he's free to go.

Great.

They were interviewing
him dishonestly,

and so I told him
to get out of there.

Then, I met him over
at his apartment,

where there was a media swarm.

Stop for a second.

--was over 10 Minutes.

Did they say you're
a suspect, Mr. Jewell?

What kind of questions
were they asking?

Somebody that made this device
knew what they were doing.

Does Richard have enough
training, has he done devices?

Does anyone know or have
seen him purchase equipment?

You just dig into
his whole lifestyle.

We got the search
warrant pretty quickly

for his mother's apartment,
where he was living at the time.

In Atlanta, federal agents are
focusing on the home of a man

recently hailed as a hero.

FEMALE REPORTER 2: Armed with
a federal search warrant,

FBI agents entered the Atlanta
apartment of security guard

Richard Jewell,
searching for evidence

that might tie him to the
Saturday morning bombing

in Centennial Olympic Park.

WATSON BRYANT: And then,
they searched the apartment.

Now, they're deep in here.

I didn't know why they were
doing what they were doing,

and I also was naive
enough to believe

that they wouldn't be
doing this unless they

had a good reason for it.

FEMALE REPORTER 2:
From time to time,

agents emerged carrying bags or
boxes, but would not comment.

And today, neither would
the once talkative Jewell.

[playing trumpet]

FEMALE REPORTER 3: It was
the reopening ceremony, not

of the games, but of the park.

The park where a bomb went
off early Saturday morning.

[singing, playing guitar]

Now, they've returned
to sing and pray

and remember the victims.

[pensive music]

Centennial Olympic Park
was back in business,

and there was a resolve
to bring people back.

You need your
bag off your body.

TOM DAVIS: We had bag checks--

Put your umbrella
on the table, sir.

--magnetometers set
up at every entrance,

about twice the
number of security

people assigned to the park.

So there was quite
a few changes made.

Gates opened to the left.

Gates opened to the right.

Thank you.

Thank you.

In the meantime, the
investigation proceeds,

and they do have people
chasing other leads.

The public was
asked if anyone had

photographs or video
of Centennial Park

before the explosion--

[explosion]

--and after the
explosion to please

in that video in to the FBI
so it could be analyzed.

We were hoping, since almost
everybody coming to the Olympics

has got a camera
and taking pictures,

that they could've
provided us with something

that would be helpful.

It was a pretty
massive undertaking,

so we're talking 35 millimeter
film and any other video

from video cameras that they
might have been carrying so we

could use that to try to
identify anyone in the area

of that particular tower.

We knew that
location of the bomb.

We had a time frame when
the bomb was put there.

So we were just looking for
anybody who had a picture

of that site at that time.

And we got one video
that had somebody

there with the backpack between
their legs for about an hour

before the bomb detonated.

Bingo, you know?

It's gotta be the guy.

You tell a literate individual
sitting on the bench,

but you couldn't get anything
really specific about the image.

There was no definition to it.

And we literally called
this individual-- he

became known as the Blob Man.

We just couldn't
do anything with it.

The FBI didn't have the
expertise or the technology

to really improve much.

When someone had the idea NASA
might have some capabilities

that we need to
look at from things

they do with their
satellite imagery.

Capabilities that was
very, very advanced

specifically to
enhance the video.

JACK DAULTON: So it
was sent to NASA.

[pensive music]

In 1996, I was head of
the Solar Physics Team

at NASA's Marshall Space Flight
Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

One thing that was going on at
Marshall Space Flight Center

was trying to fix Hubble images.

We had computer techniques
that could basically

put the image back together.

Take a star that looked blurry
and turn it back into a star.

We had taken a lot of
the blurry Hubble images

and made them quite presentable.

The FBI was aware we
were doing all of this.

And shortly after the
bombing, the center director

at Marshall Space Flight Center
had been contacted by the FBI

in Atlanta, asking
for help clearing

up the image of the bomber.

Myself and my
colleague Paul Meyer

ended up really working on it.

We knew that this was really
important, that we were doing

something that would
perhaps save people's lives,

if you catch him before
he does it again.

The first thing they gave us
was a video from the night

of the bombing of the backpack.

It was very dark, hard to see.

Remember, this is 1996, when
video was a VHS for consumers.

Notoriously poor quality.

Even the best one we had,
which was of broadcast quality,

even that was hard because
it was so dark that night.

We had at least two other
critical videos from the night

that were from families.

One of those videos
caught the bomber

actually sitting on the bench
where the backpack was left.

We couldn't really
define anything,

but he was sitting in an
area at the right time,

at the right place.

You just knew you were
looking at the bomber.

But the images were too dark,
too noisy to try to do any image

restoration on a single image.

Paul and I had to invent a brand
new process for stabilizing

video to get the clean images.

It was, um-- it fascinating
to watch the progression, but it

would not happen overnight.

There's been no statement.

Did they tell you now
not to leave town?

The investigation of Richard
Jewell plays out in the media.

They got television stations
focused at his residence,

waiting for him to be arrested.

Are you under arrest?

WATSON BRYANT: It's quite
a ride to go from the hero

to the villain, so he was
devastated by the idea

that people believed that
he could be the bomber.

Where are you at--

What kind of questions
were they asking?

WATSON BRYANT: And just seeing
it day after day, the avalanche

of negative publicity.

Every time you turned
a channel, it was

on, over and over all day long.

You've been to the FBI?

MALE REPORTER 5: Can you
give us your reaction

to what's happened today?

CNN has learned federal agents
are working on a timeline,

trying to figure out if
Jewell had enough time

to make the 911 call,
then return in time

to discover the bomb.

There's a phone
call to 911 operator,

and the phone call says--

CALLER: There is a bomb
in Centennial Park.

You have 30 minutes.

It was made from a public
telephone close to the park.

We say to ourselves,
well, wait a minute.

How does Richard Jewell
go from being where

he is to walking several blocks
away to make the phone call,

and then come back?

And we set a stopwatch.

We walk from Centennial
Park up to the phone, which

is a few blocks away, make a
phone call, hang up the phone,

walk back.

MALE REPORTER 5: According
to the FBI timeline,

the 911 warning call
came in at 12:58 AM.

The FBI says, the bomb
went off at about 1:25 AM.

That's some 27 minutes
after the warning call.

I realized that he didn't
have the time to make that call,

get to the park and then leave--

MALE REPORTER 5: The GBI agent
who says Jewell pointed out

the suspicious knapsack to him
says it was about 23 minutes

from the time Jewell
first asked for his help

until the bomb exploded.

--nor would he have had
time to plant the bomb,

go to that bank of
payphones, and get

back to the park and his duty
station if he was the bomber.

MALE REPORTER 5: If the
time lines are right,

that means Jewell came to
the GBI agent around 1:02 AM.

That would have left
Jewell only some 4 minutes

to make the 911 call and
return to his post in the park.

It's 3 and a half blocks from
the payphone to the park.

I only know that for the 20
minutes prior to the detonation

of the bomb, Richard
was right there with me,

trying to get people to move.

There's no way Richard could
have made the phone call.

There are people who are
beginning to get skeptical.

I think what they did was
cherry pick a bunch of stuff,

you know?

Like, he fits the profile
of the lone bomber.

There is no damn profile
of a lone bomber.

This is just total
made up stuff.

There's no hard
evidence in there.

MALE REPORTER 6: Are you
Mr. Jewell's attorney?

His lawyers are
doing a good job,

and they keep going at
the FBI, and he suffers

and he suffers mightily.

Eventually, they start
being more clues.

And there are some people
who think, wait a minute,

this guy did it?

Where does he have the
bomb training to do this?

Well, we couldn't find any
evidence that he had ever made

or been interested in bombings.

Did whole variety
of background checks

that led to his
personality assessment.

We eventually just said, I
think the odds are extremely

remote that he did this.

[ominous bellowing music]

We thought it'd
be a good idea,

when we got the
clearance letter,

to set up a press conference.

We all were there, and
Richard got up and spoke.

I am not the
Olympic Park bomber.

I am a man who, from July
30 until October 26th,

lived every waking
minute of those 88 days

afraid that I would be
arrested and charged

with a horrible crime--

a crime I did not commit.

It made the mainstream
media all around the world.

It was the lead
story everywhere.

It was a good day,
but at the same time,

I think all of this
finally got to the Jewells.

RICHARD JEWELL: For 88
days, I lived a nightmare.

For 88 days, my mother
lived a nightmare too.

Now, I must face the other
part of my nightmare.

While the government can tell
you that I am an innocent man,

the government
cannot give me back

my good name or my reputation.

Instead of being
remembered as a hero,

he is remembered as either a
victim or as a guy that got away

with it, and that
is-- it's shameful

that that has
happened to somebody

that did such a good thing.

It's proven that Richard
Jewell is not the bomber.

And by that time, we're
following up on new information,

leads are coming
in, and then going

back and reevaluating other
leads that have been exhausted.

It's very frustrating because
we weren't making any progress.

Only way you get more clues is
if another crime is committed.

You're not rooting for
another crime to be committed,

but it's gonna help
you build a case.

[tense shrieking music]

Story just in here for you.

There's been an explosion--
according to an associated press

write through this morning--
an explosion in a building

just North of Atlanta.

On January the 16th, I was
driving in my car to the office,

and I heard over
the radio that there

had been an explosion
at the Sandy

Springs Professional Building.

The building does house an
abortion clinic, we're told.

Happened at 9:30 this
morning or around then.

It's at the Atlanta
Northside Family Clinic.

No injuries reported.

Don't know the cause yet.

The abortion clinic
was on one corner,

and someone had placed a small
bomb device with a timer on it

at the door of the clinic.

And when it went off, it
blew out a lot of windows

and made a big mess.

So when I respond there, the
crime scene around the building

has been set up.

I go inside the tape, and I'm
conferring with other agents.

I walked out of
the crowd, over where

two vehicles had been parked.

I'm standing there
on the phone--

[explosion]

[yells]

--and the second
device went off.

My reaction was not of surprise.

It was anger.

Son of a bitch.

This asshole has
set up another one.

I had never been concussed
by a blow like that.

[explosion]
- [yells]

JOE KENNEDY: We were showered
with dirt, and a lot of people

were injured.

There were people on the
ground, and that's when things

went into a different mode.

TOM BUSH: So you
lose your hearing,

and we've got people
down, vehicles that have

been affected by the blast.

And so now, you're in a
real full blown panic.

JOE KENNEDY: Everyone worked
to try to secure the scene

and attend to the
possible victims.

I got a chunk of meat
carved out of my right ankle,

then I had like three
puncture wounds in the back,

but the bulk of it hit me
in the side of the head.

The second bomb had
been perfectly placed.

Someone definitely
thought it over.

Had the first one as a
ruse to draw people in.

I mean, what he had
done was the perfect way

to go after law enforcement.

Now, we're looking
at an individual

who is targeting
first responders,

targeting abortion clinics.

OFFICER (ON RADIO):
Hey, control,

we just had another explosion
down here at the center.

Nearly six months after
the Centennial Park bombing,

Atlanta is rocked by
another explosion, this time

at a women's health clinic.

Is this connected to the
Centennial Park attack?

And if so, who is planting
these bombs and why?

The hunt for the person
or people responsible

continues in part two
of Atlanta Bombing.

I'm Jesse L. Martin.

Thank you for watching.

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