ATLANTA BOMBING 'Hero' becomes focus of investigation
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See the article in its original context from August 1996.
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The bomb killed one person and injured more than 100 people early Saturday in the second terrorist attack in Olympic history. Despite the blast, the Atlanta Games have continued as scheduled and the park in downtown Atlanta reopened Tuesday.
Richard Jewell, 33, had received bomb training while working as a deputy sheriff in northeastern Georgia, the newspaper reported.
He was working as a security guard for Anthony Davis and Associates, a security firm in Los Angeles hired by AT and T to provide security at its pavilion in Centennial Olympic Park.
Jewell has been interviewed on U.S. television stations and spoken to numerous newspapers about his role in alerting police to the bomb minutes before it exploded. The Journal-Constitution said he contacted the newspaper, seeking publicity for his actions.
In an interview with the Journal-Constitution on Monday, Jewell said: "I'm feeling bad about the victims that did occur. If I had one wish, it would be that all the people who were victims were not victims." Jewell, who lives in Atlanta, was hired by Borg Warner initially to work in security at the Olympic Village. Borg Warner was dropped as the security company, but the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games liked Jewell so much, it asked Anthony Davis Associates to hire him and they did this month. "They requested Richard. He was specifically requested by the sound consultant," said Davis, owner of the security company. "It definitely surprises me. I have talked to him at great length since the bombing and there was nothing."
FBI agents are studying hours of professional and home video to see if Jewell was spotted placing the knapsack, and investigators are checking to see if his voice matches that of a telephone caller who warned police of the bomb minutes before it went off, the newspaper said.
Earlier Tuesday, the park reopened as Atlanta tried to reclaim the festive heart of the Summer Games. With a burst of water from a five-ringed Olympic fountain, thousands of people cheered as dignitaries rededicated the 21-acre (eight kilometer) park that was closed for three days by the pipe bomb.
"We're here not to wallow in tragedy, but to celebrate a triumph - a triumph of human spirit," said Andrew Young, an Olympic official and former mayor of Atlanta.
