Olympic Park Bombing

In the early morning hours of July 27, 1996, a pipe bomb exploded in Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park. It was the ninth day of the summer Olympics. Between 40,000 and 50,000 people had gathered to enjoy musical entertainment when the bomb exploded. Alice Hawthorne, a 44-year-old wife and mother of two was killed instantly, and 111 others were injured. A Turkish television cameraman also died when he had a heart attack while rushing to cover the explosion.

Before the bomb exploded, a man called “911” from a pay phone near the park and reported that a bomb in Olympic Park would detonate in 30 minutes. The bomb exploded 22 minutes later. Experts immediately assumed that the bombing was the work of a domestic terrorist acting alone. Three days later, the Atlanta Journal Constitution printed an extra edition of the newspaper and named Richard Jewell as the FBI's prime suspect, based on information provided by unidentified law enforcement sources. Jewell, an ex–deputy sheriff, was working as a security guard for the Olympics. He was originally lauded as a hero after notifying police of a suspicious bag and had helped to clear crowds from the area where the bomb detonated just minutes later.

In the weeks that followed, the media depicted Jewell as a frustrated former police officer who fit the profile of a lone bomber, a term used by the FBI in investigations. Jewell was never arrested, detained, or formally charged with the crime. On October 26, the U.S. Attorney issued a press release announcing that Jewell was not a target of the investigation, based on the evidence developed to that date. The FBI was later criticized for the interrogation tactics used with Jewell, and a resulting investigation led to disciplinary action against three agents.

In October 1998, FBI officials charged Eric Robert Rudolph with the Olympic Park bombing. He was also charged with the 1997 double bombing of an Atlanta area women's health care clinic and an Atlanta nightclub. A double bombing occurs when one bomb explodes, drawing rescue workers and law enforcement to the scene. A second bomb then explodes, resulting in injuries to the workers who have arrived to assist with the first bomb. Although charged with five counts of malicious use of an explosive in violation of a federal law, Rudolph has never been captured by law enforcement officials. Various agencies have been unsuccessful in their search for Rudolph in the North Carolina mountains near his home, and the last reported sighting of him was on July 7, 1998. There is speculation that Rudolph is dead, but the search for justice has not stopped. He is currently on the FBI's most wanted list, and there is a $1 million reward for information leading to his arrest.