WEBVTT 00:00:06.911 --> 00:00:08.346 Please keep a safe distance, 00:00:08.380 --> 00:00:09.547 nothing to see. 00:00:09.614 --> 00:00:11.216 I was only 18 yards from the backpack. 00:00:17.722 --> 00:00:18.990 This was the largest pipe bomb 00:00:19.024 --> 00:00:20.625 in US history. 00:00:22.360 --> 00:00:24.462 NASA contacted us. 00:00:24.496 --> 00:00:26.464 This might be the break we needed. 00:00:26.498 --> 00:00:27.632 The description 00:00:27.665 --> 00:00:29.267 matches the NASA analysis. 00:00:30.101 --> 00:00:31.036 Right then... 00:00:31.102 --> 00:00:32.704 boom! 00:00:32.737 --> 00:00:34.672 I see people screaming, 00:00:34.739 --> 00:00:35.740 people in pain. 00:00:35.774 --> 00:00:37.008 Get out now. 00:00:37.042 --> 00:00:38.576 You shoot at one cop, you've shot at all of us. 00:00:38.643 --> 00:00:40.211 And we're going to stop you. 00:01:26.324 --> 00:01:28.359 In the summer of 1996 00:01:28.426 --> 00:01:30.462 Atlanta was hosting not only the Olympics, 00:01:30.528 --> 00:01:32.130 but the Centennial Olympics. 00:01:34.933 --> 00:01:37.836 It was a time that we set out to make America proud. 00:01:37.902 --> 00:01:39.904 You've got nations from all over the world 00:01:39.938 --> 00:01:41.539 coming together in one location. 00:01:42.373 --> 00:01:44.542 Tens of thousands of people every day 00:01:44.576 --> 00:01:47.112 Party of the century, baby. 00:01:47.178 --> 00:01:48.279 Yeah, yeah. 00:01:48.313 --> 00:01:50.248 So, there's always the potential 00:01:50.281 --> 00:01:52.183 of terrorist activity. 00:01:54.319 --> 00:01:57.322 My job was working in an under-cover capacity. 00:01:57.388 --> 00:02:00.458 I was making my last pass through the park. 00:02:00.558 --> 00:02:03.194 And I was approached by a security guard... 00:02:03.228 --> 00:02:04.829 - Hey, Richard. - Richard Jewell. 00:02:06.498 --> 00:02:08.700 Richard pointed to a green backpack 00:02:08.733 --> 00:02:10.935 underneath a bench. 00:02:10.969 --> 00:02:13.471 We had dealt with a number of suspicious packages. 00:02:13.571 --> 00:02:14.973 What the hell is that? 00:02:15.039 --> 00:02:18.076 And none of these situations turned out to be anything. 00:02:27.051 --> 00:02:30.155 There is a bomb in Centennial Park. 00:02:33.057 --> 00:02:35.226 You have 30 minutes. 00:02:38.696 --> 00:02:40.365 What I didn't know, 00:02:40.398 --> 00:02:43.535 there was a call made to the 911 center. 00:02:43.601 --> 00:02:45.236 I think we better call it in. 00:02:45.336 --> 00:02:46.738 I wish we had had that information. 00:02:46.804 --> 00:02:48.339 We've got a suspect package 00:02:48.373 --> 00:02:50.175 underneath the tower near a bench. 00:02:56.514 --> 00:02:57.815 When they arrived, 00:02:57.882 --> 00:03:00.118 one of them cracked the end of the bag, 00:03:00.185 --> 00:03:02.120 just a very very small area. 00:03:04.088 --> 00:03:05.690 They backed away from the bag, 00:03:08.126 --> 00:03:10.728 and asked me to use my cell phone. 00:03:13.364 --> 00:03:15.300 At that point in my mind, I'm thinking, 00:03:15.366 --> 00:03:17.101 "Well, there's a little more to this." 00:03:20.471 --> 00:03:22.640 We were in the process of clearing people out. 00:03:22.740 --> 00:03:23.675 Nothing to see here! 00:03:23.741 --> 00:03:25.643 Move back. 00:03:25.743 --> 00:03:27.645 I was only 18 yards from the backpack... 00:03:29.581 --> 00:03:31.182 when, all of a sudden... 00:03:39.924 --> 00:03:42.026 All I see is chaos. 00:03:42.060 --> 00:03:43.127 I see people screaming, 00:03:43.161 --> 00:03:44.762 people in pain. 00:03:44.862 --> 00:03:46.431 People severely injured. 00:03:50.935 --> 00:03:54.872 I was a supervisor of our Anti-Terrorist Unit. 00:03:54.939 --> 00:03:56.407 I hear radio traffic... 00:03:56.441 --> 00:03:59.711 there had been an explosion in Centennial Olympic Park 00:03:59.777 --> 00:04:02.313 and we had multiple officers down. 00:04:02.413 --> 00:04:04.682 I'm hoping nobody I knew has gotten killed. 00:04:04.716 --> 00:04:06.184 Believe me it was a bomb! 00:04:06.251 --> 00:04:07.285 Let's go please. 00:04:07.285 --> 00:04:08.653 We get there, there's trauma everywhere. 00:04:08.720 --> 00:04:10.755 It was the largest thing I'd ever seen. 00:04:10.822 --> 00:04:13.891 We had over a hundred people injured. 00:04:13.925 --> 00:04:15.760 One lady, kneeled down 00:04:15.827 --> 00:04:18.129 and felt to see if I could feel a pulse. 00:04:18.196 --> 00:04:19.797 I didn't feel a pulse. 00:04:20.465 --> 00:04:23.001 Alice Hawthorne, she was killed instantaneously. 00:04:26.838 --> 00:04:29.140 I was very angry that someone 00:04:29.207 --> 00:04:32.310 would come in there and disrupt the games. 00:04:32.377 --> 00:04:34.312 I thought that was the most cowardly thing 00:04:34.379 --> 00:04:35.980 that I've ever seen. 00:04:36.748 --> 00:04:38.283 This was a terrible tragedy. 00:04:38.316 --> 00:04:40.785 Whoever this was, put a bomb down in the park, 00:04:40.852 --> 00:04:43.154 he ended up wounding a hundred people 00:04:43.221 --> 00:04:44.856 and killing Alice Hawthorne. 00:04:50.061 --> 00:04:52.930 I was employed by ATF as a forensic chemist. 00:04:52.964 --> 00:04:56.301 Within 30 minutes I got a call and I was at Centennial Park. 00:04:58.870 --> 00:05:00.872 I was actually assigned 00:05:00.872 --> 00:05:02.874 to work the immediate explosive area. 00:05:02.940 --> 00:05:06.444 We tried to collect all of the evidence that's possible. 00:05:06.511 --> 00:05:07.879 The smallest piece you find 00:05:07.945 --> 00:05:09.147 might have a mark on it 00:05:09.247 --> 00:05:11.049 that's readily identifiable 00:05:11.082 --> 00:05:12.684 that you didn't find on anything else. 00:05:14.619 --> 00:05:16.421 My role at the Olympics at that time 00:05:16.521 --> 00:05:19.557 is as an advisor should something happen. 00:05:19.624 --> 00:05:22.960 We were concerned about the rain coming in 00:05:23.061 --> 00:05:25.063 and washing away valuable evidence, 00:05:25.096 --> 00:05:26.798 some residues. 00:05:26.831 --> 00:05:28.700 So, we put a tent over the crater area. 00:05:29.967 --> 00:05:33.371 Everything is given its own number and own location 00:05:33.438 --> 00:05:34.572 and at a later time, 00:05:34.639 --> 00:05:37.642 we're able to know exactly where the pieces were found. 00:05:39.277 --> 00:05:41.012 So you just never know what piece of evidence 00:05:41.012 --> 00:05:42.714 is actually gonna solve the case. 00:05:44.115 --> 00:05:47.985 We collected over 500 bags of evidence. 00:05:48.019 --> 00:05:50.288 And then it was flown to FBI laboratory 00:05:50.355 --> 00:05:51.923 in Washington DC. 00:05:56.928 --> 00:05:59.931 People couldn't believe that it actually happened. 00:05:59.997 --> 00:06:03.234 And wanted to see whoever was responsible 00:06:03.301 --> 00:06:04.902 caught very quickly. 00:06:08.373 --> 00:06:10.041 The bombing at Centennial Olympic Park 00:06:10.108 --> 00:06:12.477 was an evil act of terror. 00:06:12.510 --> 00:06:14.011 We will spare no effort 00:06:14.112 --> 00:06:16.681 to find out who was responsible for this murderous act. 00:06:16.748 --> 00:06:18.950 We will track them down. 00:06:19.016 --> 00:06:20.518 We will bring them to justice. 00:06:20.585 --> 00:06:22.487 We will see that they are punished. 00:06:28.493 --> 00:06:31.028 Discussions began on who the bomber might be, 00:06:31.062 --> 00:06:33.264 what cause he could be representing, 00:06:33.331 --> 00:06:35.233 what country he might be from. 00:06:35.333 --> 00:06:37.034 There were so many targets, 00:06:37.068 --> 00:06:38.403 it could have been somebody 00:06:38.436 --> 00:06:40.505 that just didn't like the Olympics. 00:06:40.538 --> 00:06:41.773 It could have been an international group 00:06:41.806 --> 00:06:43.708 that wanted to free a prisoner. 00:06:43.775 --> 00:06:45.376 It could have been somebody 00:06:45.410 --> 00:06:46.978 that was targeting law enforcement. 00:06:49.147 --> 00:06:52.083 We had a warning call from the bomber 00:06:52.150 --> 00:06:53.618 saying there was a bomb in the park, 00:06:53.718 --> 00:06:55.420 and he had 30 minutes. 00:06:55.520 --> 00:06:59.157 There is a bomb in Centennial Park. 00:06:59.190 --> 00:07:01.426 You have 30 minutes. 00:07:01.459 --> 00:07:02.827 We did a timeline 00:07:02.894 --> 00:07:05.530 and the bomb detonated around 21 minutes. 00:07:07.064 --> 00:07:09.434 You have 30 minutes. 00:07:09.467 --> 00:07:11.068 He might have been using that 00:07:11.068 --> 00:07:12.670 to *er law enforcement 00:07:12.737 --> 00:07:14.672 and first responders into the scene. 00:07:21.446 --> 00:07:23.848 We had tens of thousands of witnesses 00:07:23.915 --> 00:07:25.450 that were in the park. 00:07:25.483 --> 00:07:27.385 We made an appeal for cameras 00:07:27.452 --> 00:07:30.087 and were hoping people might get a picture 00:07:30.121 --> 00:07:32.857 of somebody carrying the bomb. 00:07:32.924 --> 00:07:36.027 Thousands of pictures and videotape came in. 00:07:36.093 --> 00:07:37.228 Special Agent Stone, 00:07:37.295 --> 00:07:38.696 we've picked something up you might find of interest. 00:07:38.763 --> 00:07:40.565 One of the video tapes we received 00:07:40.665 --> 00:07:42.333 actually showed a person 00:07:42.400 --> 00:07:45.837 sitting on the end of the bench where the bomb detonated. 00:07:47.872 --> 00:07:49.841 It was a shadowy figure, 00:07:49.941 --> 00:07:51.509 you could make out no detail, 00:07:52.844 --> 00:07:54.579 looked like he was wearing a hoodie, 00:07:54.679 --> 00:07:58.316 and had a pack between his legs. 00:07:58.416 --> 00:07:59.951 Because we couldn't identify, 00:07:59.984 --> 00:08:02.119 he became known as "Blob Man". 00:08:02.220 --> 00:08:04.789 No amount of enhancement could change it, 00:08:04.856 --> 00:08:06.424 it was just a "Blob Man". 00:08:07.058 --> 00:08:09.694 We needed a way to increase clarity. 00:08:11.128 --> 00:08:14.131 So, the decision was made to contact NASA. 00:08:14.165 --> 00:08:16.434 Can you give me the number of the photo enhancement Division. 00:08:16.501 --> 00:08:18.236 They had more expertise than anybody 00:08:18.269 --> 00:08:19.904 to enhance the photographs. 00:08:19.971 --> 00:08:25.243 Five, four, three, two, one. 00:08:25.276 --> 00:08:26.878 We have ignition. 00:08:26.978 --> 00:08:28.546 We have lift-off. 00:08:28.613 --> 00:08:31.749 In 1996 I was a solar astronomer 00:08:31.816 --> 00:08:33.885 at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Centre. 00:08:33.985 --> 00:08:35.753 The FBI was aware 00:08:35.820 --> 00:08:38.189 that we had launched the Hubble Space Craft 00:08:38.256 --> 00:08:40.658 to observe the night sky. 00:08:42.093 --> 00:08:43.761 Those images were blurry. 00:08:43.828 --> 00:08:47.565 We had techniques for de-blurring those images. 00:08:47.632 --> 00:08:49.467 The FBI thought we might be able 00:08:49.534 --> 00:08:52.370 to help them identify who the bomber might be. 00:08:52.403 --> 00:08:54.005 See if you can enhance that. 00:08:54.105 --> 00:08:56.007 The one key video they had, 00:08:56.107 --> 00:08:57.942 it was very noisy, very dark, 00:08:57.975 --> 00:09:00.177 difficult to see anything. 00:09:00.278 --> 00:09:01.646 We made it clear to them 00:09:01.679 --> 00:09:03.481 we're going to have to develop new things 00:09:03.548 --> 00:09:05.316 to clean up these videos. 00:09:05.383 --> 00:09:07.485 This was going to take weeks, if not longer. 00:09:08.553 --> 00:09:10.154 Probably too long. 00:09:10.187 --> 00:09:13.124 We were hoping it would take a shorter period of time 00:09:13.190 --> 00:09:15.326 because we had a lot of pressure 00:09:15.393 --> 00:09:17.762 to identify who the bomber was. 00:09:19.397 --> 00:09:21.299 Our lab director told us, you know, 00:09:21.399 --> 00:09:24.035 drop everything, and help these guys. 00:09:24.135 --> 00:09:25.670 And we were perfectly willing to do it. 00:09:25.703 --> 00:09:26.871 We realized, you know, 00:09:26.938 --> 00:09:28.406 this was a thing of national importance 00:09:28.506 --> 00:09:30.708 and we were ready, willing and able 00:09:30.775 --> 00:09:32.410 to do whatever we could. 00:09:43.254 --> 00:09:45.823 After the Olympic Park bombing, 00:09:45.890 --> 00:09:47.692 there were frequent meetings 00:09:47.725 --> 00:09:49.727 and briefings at a very high level. 00:09:49.794 --> 00:09:54.231 Teams of ATF, FBI and GBI agents. 00:09:55.700 --> 00:09:58.235 There was nothing that we would not have done 00:09:58.336 --> 00:10:01.172 that was legal in trying to solve that crime. 00:10:02.106 --> 00:10:07.912 We used every potential resource that was out there 00:10:07.979 --> 00:10:10.848 to apply technology, 00:10:10.915 --> 00:10:14.118 to provide forensic techniques 00:10:14.185 --> 00:10:15.786 to solve that crime. 00:10:17.254 --> 00:10:19.557 The intent of gathering the evidence 00:10:19.624 --> 00:10:21.659 was to try to reconstruct the bomb. 00:10:24.729 --> 00:10:27.365 The way it was constructed was in effect 00:10:27.398 --> 00:10:30.768 a signature of who that bomber was. 00:10:36.140 --> 00:10:39.777 We had a few grains of the powder from the crime scene 00:10:39.844 --> 00:10:43.114 to help us decide what kind of explosive 00:10:43.147 --> 00:10:44.749 was actually used. 00:10:48.386 --> 00:10:49.854 The explosive used was a mixture 00:10:49.887 --> 00:10:51.489 of number nine and number seven. 00:10:51.522 --> 00:10:53.591 Accurate Arms Smokeless Ball Powder. 00:10:56.861 --> 00:10:58.062 Smokeless powder 00:10:58.129 --> 00:11:01.232 is the propellant that is used in bullets. 00:11:03.134 --> 00:11:06.771 Smokeless powder isn't controlled in the United States. 00:11:06.804 --> 00:11:11.409 And you can go to any hunting supply house 00:11:11.509 --> 00:11:14.345 and buy the smokeless powder. 00:11:17.615 --> 00:11:19.684 We also had a Westclock timer. 00:11:21.919 --> 00:11:23.988 An Eveready 12-volt lantern battery. 00:11:25.256 --> 00:11:26.991 Dual conductor wire. 00:11:27.058 --> 00:11:29.460 A Radioshack product. 00:11:29.527 --> 00:11:32.363 6008D cut nails. 00:11:32.430 --> 00:11:35.466 Three pipes, 12 inches in length, 00:11:35.533 --> 00:11:37.134 two inches in diameter. 00:11:40.638 --> 00:11:43.007 When we complete our forensic examinations 00:11:43.074 --> 00:11:44.442 and we're comfortable 00:11:44.475 --> 00:11:46.277 that we know all of the components 00:11:46.343 --> 00:11:48.446 that are in that particular device, 00:11:48.479 --> 00:11:51.449 we will build a mock up device. 00:11:51.549 --> 00:11:53.718 You know where certain components are placed 00:11:53.818 --> 00:11:55.720 based on where they go when the bomb goes off. 00:11:58.089 --> 00:12:00.124 Whatever's over here on a certain point, 00:12:00.191 --> 00:12:02.193 it takes off in that direction 00:12:02.226 --> 00:12:03.728 instead of going in the other direction. 00:12:03.828 --> 00:12:07.031 So that helps you place it in the right area. 00:12:07.098 --> 00:12:09.567 We built a mock up as best as we can. 00:12:11.569 --> 00:12:13.671 It was determined this was the largest pipe bomb 00:12:13.738 --> 00:12:15.306 in US history. 00:12:22.680 --> 00:12:24.115 We had a lot of forensics, 00:12:24.148 --> 00:12:27.585 none of them were unique identifiers to an individual. 00:12:27.685 --> 00:12:30.054 With the exception of the steel plate. 00:12:31.856 --> 00:12:34.258 The bomb is mounted on a steel plate, 00:12:34.325 --> 00:12:37.061 which was used as a directional device, 00:12:37.128 --> 00:12:38.129 very similar to 00:12:38.229 --> 00:12:40.698 a Claymore mine that the military uses. 00:12:42.700 --> 00:12:44.301 That's not your average thing 00:12:44.335 --> 00:12:45.936 that you would find with a pipe bomb. 00:12:47.338 --> 00:12:49.073 The plate sends the shrapnel 00:12:49.140 --> 00:12:50.875 in the direction the bomber wants it to go. 00:12:53.878 --> 00:12:55.646 It was designed to kill and maim 00:12:55.713 --> 00:12:58.015 as many people as it could. 00:12:58.082 --> 00:13:01.152 We were possibly looking for a military suspect 00:13:01.252 --> 00:13:03.020 or a suspect who had a military background. 00:13:08.192 --> 00:13:10.427 Someone called in and recommended, 00:13:10.528 --> 00:13:12.096 look at Richard Jewell. 00:13:12.897 --> 00:13:15.099 Richard Jewell was the security guard 00:13:15.166 --> 00:13:16.734 who actually found the bomb. 00:13:18.369 --> 00:13:19.637 He had made statements to the effect 00:13:19.737 --> 00:13:21.605 that if something was going to happen at the Olympics, 00:13:21.639 --> 00:13:23.641 he wanted to be involved in it. 00:13:25.176 --> 00:13:28.112 What did the FBI ask you? 00:13:28.179 --> 00:13:30.648 Can you categorically say that you did not do this? 00:13:30.681 --> 00:13:32.750 I did not do it. 00:13:32.817 --> 00:13:34.819 Where were you at one o'clock on that morning? 00:13:34.919 --> 00:13:38.055 I was out there just like all the other officers. 00:13:38.122 --> 00:13:39.123 Did you do it? 00:13:39.190 --> 00:13:41.125 No sir, I didn't do it. 00:13:41.192 --> 00:13:43.928 I did not think that he could possibly 00:13:43.961 --> 00:13:46.297 have been the guy that made that device. 00:13:48.599 --> 00:13:50.568 If he had enough sense to build that device, 00:13:50.601 --> 00:13:52.136 he's going to have two or three skyscrapers 00:13:52.203 --> 00:13:55.306 between him and this device when it blows up. 00:13:55.406 --> 00:13:58.309 He's not going to be right there close by 00:13:58.342 --> 00:14:00.845 where he could have got caught with nails and shrapnel. 00:14:03.047 --> 00:14:06.250 Following an intensive investigation by the FBI, 00:14:06.317 --> 00:14:08.419 Richard was cleared. 00:14:08.485 --> 00:14:10.154 He was no longer a suspect. 00:14:13.724 --> 00:14:16.260 We still had to find a viable suspect. 00:14:18.796 --> 00:14:20.598 You've got a mad bomber out there, 00:14:20.631 --> 00:14:23.767 it was just a matter of time before there'd be another bombing. 00:14:31.175 --> 00:14:33.377 On January 16th in 1997 00:14:33.444 --> 00:14:35.045 that would have been my first day 00:14:35.079 --> 00:14:38.082 as the special agent in charge for ATF in Atlanta. 00:14:38.115 --> 00:14:41.719 I was looking for a peaceful transition. 00:14:41.819 --> 00:14:42.920 Excited, 00:14:42.987 --> 00:14:45.189 interested to meet my counterparts 00:14:45.256 --> 00:14:47.725 and begin the work of the highest-ranking position 00:14:47.825 --> 00:14:50.828 I was gonna hold in my law enforcement career. 00:14:52.897 --> 00:14:54.832 But one of them said, "Welcome aboard! 00:14:54.899 --> 00:14:56.567 We've just had a bombing 00:14:56.567 --> 00:14:58.269 in an abortion clinic in Sandy Springs." 00:14:58.269 --> 00:15:00.838 An explosion blew out the windows 00:15:00.905 --> 00:15:03.107 at a North Atlanta family planning clinic. 00:15:03.140 --> 00:15:04.842 News had come over... 00:15:04.909 --> 00:15:06.477 I was sitting there with my supervisor 00:15:06.543 --> 00:15:08.779 and he said "Well, you need to, uh, 00:15:08.812 --> 00:15:11.015 roll out there and see what's going on." 00:15:14.585 --> 00:15:16.854 No one has claimed credit for these explosions. 00:15:16.921 --> 00:15:18.923 Fire-fighters and local police 00:15:19.023 --> 00:15:20.925 were already on the scene. 00:15:20.958 --> 00:15:23.661 Okay, we've got some nut set a bomb off, 00:15:23.694 --> 00:15:25.763 let's see if we can figure out who did this. 00:15:25.863 --> 00:15:30.935 At this point, responding people had been told to meet 00:15:30.968 --> 00:15:32.169 on the other side of the building 00:15:32.236 --> 00:15:33.837 away from the crime scene. 00:15:35.406 --> 00:15:37.408 So, I walked back around. 00:15:37.441 --> 00:15:41.178 And I got on the phone, "John, this is Mike," 00:15:42.880 --> 00:15:44.949 and right then... boom. 00:15:50.321 --> 00:15:51.588 Get back! Get back! 00:15:51.622 --> 00:15:53.223 Let's go. 00:16:01.899 --> 00:16:03.167 My god. 00:16:03.267 --> 00:16:04.735 What the hell was that? 00:16:04.802 --> 00:16:08.505 Hey, Control, we've just had another explosion down here at the center. 00:16:11.308 --> 00:16:12.977 We've had two bombs detonated 00:16:13.043 --> 00:16:14.979 in an abortion clinic in Sandy Springs. 00:16:17.414 --> 00:16:19.616 When we examined the placement of the two devices, 00:16:19.683 --> 00:16:21.685 those of us who had served in the military 00:16:21.752 --> 00:16:24.121 recognized it as a classic I shaped ambush. 00:16:26.957 --> 00:16:28.592 It appeared that the bomber 00:16:28.692 --> 00:16:30.594 had some kind of exposure or training 00:16:30.694 --> 00:16:32.963 on how to set an effective ambush. 00:16:34.231 --> 00:16:36.133 The bomber knew that the first bomb 00:16:36.233 --> 00:16:39.269 would draw in law enforcement responders. 00:16:39.336 --> 00:16:41.538 That they would not position themselves 00:16:41.605 --> 00:16:44.641 on top of the evidence. 00:16:44.708 --> 00:16:47.244 And so, 90 degrees around the back of the building, 00:16:47.344 --> 00:16:49.179 which would seem a nice secure area 00:16:49.246 --> 00:16:51.181 that's where he buried 00:16:51.181 --> 00:16:53.083 the second device by the dumpster. 00:16:55.352 --> 00:16:58.889 So, we knew now that someone was gunning for us. 00:17:00.157 --> 00:17:02.192 And his intention by putting shrapnel in that device 00:17:02.192 --> 00:17:05.462 was to kill, injure and maim those law enforcement 00:17:05.529 --> 00:17:07.131 and public safety responders. 00:17:08.532 --> 00:17:09.566 It was real hard, 00:17:09.633 --> 00:17:11.568 because this guy was trying to kill us. 00:17:11.635 --> 00:17:13.804 Believe me it's like when you get shot at, 00:17:13.904 --> 00:17:15.906 it makes it a real personal experience. 00:17:18.809 --> 00:17:20.110 I went into a rage. 00:17:20.177 --> 00:17:21.278 How dare they... 00:17:21.378 --> 00:17:22.913 You shoot at me, you have shot at everybody. 00:17:22.946 --> 00:17:26.650 You shoot at one cop, you've shot at all of us. 00:17:26.683 --> 00:17:29.286 And we're gonna stop you, whatever it takes. 00:17:33.390 --> 00:17:34.958 When I arrived at the scene, 00:17:35.025 --> 00:17:36.660 just the crater alone told me 00:17:36.693 --> 00:17:38.195 it was a high explosive. 00:17:38.295 --> 00:17:39.963 It went through four inches of concrete. 00:17:40.030 --> 00:17:43.400 You don't get that with a pipe bomb with low explosive in it. 00:17:46.770 --> 00:17:48.305 I started getting a headache, 00:17:48.338 --> 00:17:50.140 which kind of indicated to me 00:17:50.207 --> 00:17:51.608 it was probably going to be dynamite 00:17:51.675 --> 00:17:55.479 because dynamite tends to give you a headache. 00:17:58.682 --> 00:18:01.418 I took all the evidence to the lab. 00:18:01.485 --> 00:18:02.920 We had an instrument, 00:18:02.953 --> 00:18:04.621 a thing called an EGIS machine. 00:18:07.224 --> 00:18:10.961 Conventional analysis in the lab 15 minutes. 00:18:10.994 --> 00:18:14.431 Analysis on the EGIS, nine seconds. 00:18:19.803 --> 00:18:21.738 It come out as ethylene glycol dinitrate 00:18:21.805 --> 00:18:24.007 which is the common ingredient of dynamite. 00:18:24.074 --> 00:18:25.676 It's only used in dynamite. 00:18:33.450 --> 00:18:35.252 Because we were aware of the Olympics bombing 00:18:35.352 --> 00:18:37.254 and we were waiting for NASA 00:18:37.287 --> 00:18:38.889 to see if they would be helpful 00:18:38.889 --> 00:18:40.491 with that photograph, 00:18:41.358 --> 00:18:44.361 now we're starting to make a mental comparison. 00:18:44.394 --> 00:18:46.196 We have an alarm clock device... 00:18:48.298 --> 00:18:52.736 and we have cut nails although of different size. 00:18:52.769 --> 00:18:56.640 On the other side, we have different explosives, 00:18:56.740 --> 00:19:00.577 different packaging, different deployment. 00:19:00.644 --> 00:19:04.848 But it's not iron clad that we had a common bomber. 00:19:04.915 --> 00:19:07.918 So, we have to investigate further. 00:19:12.422 --> 00:19:14.358 Shortly after AFT 00:19:14.391 --> 00:19:17.661 had the evidence back in their laboratory... 00:19:17.761 --> 00:19:19.129 Lloyd Erwin did call me. 00:19:19.163 --> 00:19:20.764 We have a metal plate in this device. 00:19:22.299 --> 00:19:24.001 This metal plate was a similar type, 00:19:24.034 --> 00:19:26.937 same thickness as the one used in Centennial Park. 00:19:33.043 --> 00:19:34.511 The FBI metallurgist 00:19:34.578 --> 00:19:38.148 did extensive amount of work on the two metal plates. 00:19:38.248 --> 00:19:40.984 He travelled to different steel manufacturing plants. 00:19:41.051 --> 00:19:43.520 He gathered hundreds and hundreds pages of data. 00:19:45.189 --> 00:19:48.058 It was decided to do a atomic-level test on the steel. 00:19:50.360 --> 00:19:51.595 If you have two pieces of metal 00:19:51.695 --> 00:19:54.898 that came from the same production or manufacturing company 00:19:54.965 --> 00:19:57.434 those would have a very unique chemical profile, 00:19:57.534 --> 00:19:59.269 and so if you analyze those 00:19:59.336 --> 00:20:00.804 you could actually pin point, 00:20:00.837 --> 00:20:03.173 what time, where and when they were produced, 00:20:03.273 --> 00:20:04.908 and if they came from the same batch. 00:20:06.977 --> 00:20:09.379 The metal plate from the Sandy Springs device, 00:20:09.446 --> 00:20:12.182 and the metal plate from the Olympic Park bomb, 00:20:12.282 --> 00:20:13.717 was determined to be 00:20:13.750 --> 00:20:16.553 analytically indistinguishable from each other. 00:20:22.859 --> 00:20:24.461 There's no doubt in my mind at this point 00:20:24.461 --> 00:20:26.063 that we're dealing with a serial bomber. 00:20:32.736 --> 00:20:34.404 We believe there is enough similarity 00:20:34.471 --> 00:20:35.739 between the devices 00:20:35.839 --> 00:20:37.007 that at this point 00:20:37.107 --> 00:20:39.209 we believe they're very likely to be linked together. 00:20:41.745 --> 00:20:43.647 We have a bomber on the loose. 00:20:43.680 --> 00:20:46.216 We didn't know where he might strike next. 00:20:53.657 --> 00:20:55.225 I get a call that there's been a bombing 00:20:55.259 --> 00:20:58.495 at a * nightclub in Atlanta, The Otherside Lounge. 00:20:58.528 --> 00:20:59.863 There was an explosion. 00:20:59.963 --> 00:21:01.498 And all of a sudden, you hear... bam! 00:21:01.531 --> 00:21:03.900 One lady had a nail stuck in her right arm. 00:21:03.967 --> 00:21:05.235 There had been some injuries, 00:21:05.269 --> 00:21:06.903 but there were no fatalities. 00:21:06.970 --> 00:21:08.171 Good news. 00:21:08.238 --> 00:21:09.840 The explosive was quickly identified 00:21:09.873 --> 00:21:11.475 as being dynamite. 00:21:12.142 --> 00:21:13.677 It was the same type of dynamite 00:21:13.677 --> 00:21:15.712 that was used in the Sandy Springs bombing. 00:21:17.614 --> 00:21:20.083 The mood is of great concern. 00:21:22.419 --> 00:21:24.721 Not only do we clearly have a serial bomber, 00:21:24.788 --> 00:21:27.791 but they're on a very high-frequency of attack. 00:21:29.693 --> 00:21:32.162 So, we had a truly unknown subject 00:21:32.195 --> 00:21:34.798 about whom we knew nothing 00:21:34.898 --> 00:21:38.368 other than their bomb making and ambush skills. 00:21:59.089 --> 00:22:01.658 Various media outlets received letters 00:22:01.725 --> 00:22:04.461 claiming credit for the abortion clinic 00:22:04.494 --> 00:22:07.631 and the * bar, the Otherside Lounge. 00:22:09.199 --> 00:22:11.735 We knew immediately the letters were genuine 00:22:11.768 --> 00:22:13.937 because the letters were mailed 00:22:13.937 --> 00:22:15.572 before the bombing of the Other Side Lounge. 00:22:16.740 --> 00:22:18.842 It was obvious that he wanted to taunt us. 00:22:20.944 --> 00:22:22.412 That we couldn't catch him 00:22:22.479 --> 00:22:24.414 and the next abortion clinic might not be empty. 00:22:26.750 --> 00:22:30.520 He signs it with the date 4/19/93. 00:22:30.587 --> 00:22:33.490 Four 19 is like a magic date. 00:22:33.523 --> 00:22:35.792 It's when Waco, Texas happened. 00:22:35.859 --> 00:22:38.962 Four 19 is the date Timothy McVeigh chose. 00:22:38.995 --> 00:22:42.766 That was a rallying date for the militia. 00:22:42.799 --> 00:22:44.601 That tells us a great deal 00:22:44.634 --> 00:22:46.803 about the motivations of this person. 00:22:46.870 --> 00:22:51.375 The letters were signed Army of God, 00:22:51.441 --> 00:22:53.143 a term that had come out 00:22:53.243 --> 00:22:54.878 in the anti-abortion movement. 00:22:56.980 --> 00:22:58.815 The Army of God investigations 00:22:58.882 --> 00:23:00.283 never turned up an army 00:23:00.350 --> 00:23:02.986 but did turn up individuals. 00:23:03.019 --> 00:23:04.888 We were convinced we were dealing with 00:23:04.921 --> 00:23:07.524 a lone wolf bomber, not a group. 00:23:19.636 --> 00:23:22.672 In the investigation, we had several long shots. 00:23:22.739 --> 00:23:24.708 The Blob Man photograph and NASA 00:23:24.741 --> 00:23:26.676 was one of them. 00:23:26.743 --> 00:23:29.279 NASA contacted us... 00:23:29.379 --> 00:23:31.548 said that they had developed a software 00:23:31.648 --> 00:23:34.184 for enhancement and clarification. 00:23:34.551 --> 00:23:36.553 This might be the break we needed. 00:23:39.022 --> 00:23:40.924 Story, we got a great view of you 00:23:41.024 --> 00:23:42.926 from the elbow camera. 00:23:43.026 --> 00:23:45.562 Really nice. 00:23:47.931 --> 00:23:50.200 Roger that Story. 00:23:50.233 --> 00:23:51.568 The Hubble technology 00:23:51.601 --> 00:23:54.404 that initially led the FBI to come to NASA 00:23:54.504 --> 00:23:57.207 ultimately we didn't use. 00:23:57.240 --> 00:23:59.509 We had been working for months 00:23:59.576 --> 00:24:01.845 developing the technology to help us, 00:24:01.945 --> 00:24:05.081 stabilize and ultimately clean up these videos. 00:24:07.250 --> 00:24:09.052 You have to remember this was 20 years ago 00:24:09.085 --> 00:24:10.987 when video wasn't digital, 00:24:11.054 --> 00:24:12.889 video was on videotape. 00:24:12.956 --> 00:24:15.325 There were no smartphones, there wasn't digital, 00:24:15.358 --> 00:24:17.093 there wasn't high def. 00:24:17.160 --> 00:24:20.163 This was VHS tape, we had a lot to deal with. 00:24:20.230 --> 00:24:24.901 Blurring the speckly noise, the image motion. 00:24:24.968 --> 00:24:27.637 When we first started trying to stabilize these images 00:24:27.704 --> 00:24:30.073 we did it basically by hand. 00:24:30.106 --> 00:24:31.708 We would say take the second image, 00:24:31.741 --> 00:24:34.077 move it over two pixels, move it up one... 00:24:34.110 --> 00:24:35.445 'Yeah, that's...' and we'd blink, 00:24:35.545 --> 00:24:36.646 'Yeah, that's a little better fit.' 00:24:36.713 --> 00:24:38.548 And it was like an eye test, you know, 00:24:38.615 --> 00:24:39.983 was A better than B? 00:24:40.016 --> 00:24:41.618 And after doing this 00:24:41.618 --> 00:24:43.620 and going nearly blind for weeks 00:24:43.720 --> 00:24:44.921 we decided, no, 00:24:44.988 --> 00:24:47.090 we have to have the computer do this. 00:24:50.994 --> 00:24:52.562 We invented the process, 00:24:52.629 --> 00:24:54.631 we called it VISR 00:24:54.664 --> 00:24:56.700 video image stabilization and registration, 00:24:56.733 --> 00:24:58.835 that compares one image to another 00:24:58.902 --> 00:25:00.470 and figures out, how the second one, 00:25:00.504 --> 00:25:02.572 has to be transformed, 00:25:02.639 --> 00:25:04.641 to match up with the first one. 00:25:04.674 --> 00:25:07.577 Exactly what angle do we need to rotate it? 00:25:07.644 --> 00:25:10.213 Exactly how much bigger do we have to make it? 00:25:10.280 --> 00:25:13.116 Exactly how much do we have to shift it? 00:25:13.149 --> 00:25:16.019 We need to figure out to a small fraction of a pixel, 00:25:16.119 --> 00:25:18.522 how much do you have to move this image, 00:25:18.588 --> 00:25:21.791 to make it match as best as possible to the other one? 00:25:21.858 --> 00:25:23.393 Once it's stabilized 00:25:23.426 --> 00:25:25.028 you can add those images together, 00:25:25.028 --> 00:25:26.396 because they all match. 00:25:26.496 --> 00:25:28.698 Get rid of that fuzzy noise, 00:25:28.765 --> 00:25:30.433 and you've got a clean clear image. 00:25:36.540 --> 00:25:37.774 The backpack video 00:25:37.874 --> 00:25:40.944 by adding together 400 images, 00:25:40.977 --> 00:25:42.779 went from where you really 00:25:42.879 --> 00:25:44.347 can't even tell it's a backpack, 00:25:44.414 --> 00:25:47.817 to you can make out details in the backpack. 00:25:53.890 --> 00:25:56.059 We cleaned up the image of the Blob Man, 00:25:56.092 --> 00:25:57.561 it's not a lot of images, 00:25:57.627 --> 00:25:59.696 probably only one or two seconds. 00:25:59.729 --> 00:26:00.997 But it was enough 00:26:01.064 --> 00:26:03.633 that we brought out details about him. 00:26:07.704 --> 00:26:09.573 You could make out his height and weight, 00:26:09.639 --> 00:26:13.743 5' 11" and 185 pounds or so. 00:26:13.810 --> 00:26:16.813 He was wearing thigh length khaki shorts, 00:26:16.846 --> 00:26:20.550 ankle high boots, with light colored socks. 00:26:20.584 --> 00:26:21.851 A dark shirt, 00:26:21.918 --> 00:26:24.988 and it looked like he had something on his head, 00:26:25.088 --> 00:26:26.756 a hood or a beret, 00:26:26.823 --> 00:26:28.592 and it becomes very apparent then, 00:26:28.658 --> 00:26:31.227 and only then, that he's a white male. 00:26:37.934 --> 00:26:40.003 They created for us a cutout that said 00:26:40.103 --> 00:26:41.938 you must be this tall 00:26:42.005 --> 00:26:43.473 and just that shoe size 00:26:43.573 --> 00:26:45.475 and just that pair of boots. 00:26:46.743 --> 00:26:48.845 We knew everything about "Blob Man" 00:26:48.878 --> 00:26:50.480 except who he was. 00:26:52.015 --> 00:26:53.216 And once we knew who he was 00:26:53.316 --> 00:26:54.751 we stood ready to convict him 00:26:54.851 --> 00:26:57.220 but couldn't do it 'til we knew who he was. 00:27:11.868 --> 00:27:15.138 I'm informed that there's been another bombing 00:27:15.171 --> 00:27:16.773 in Birmingham, Alabama 00:27:16.773 --> 00:27:19.609 of an abortion clinic, two hours away. 00:27:19.709 --> 00:27:20.977 All the way back. 00:27:21.044 --> 00:27:23.246 We do have one confirmed fatality. 00:27:23.279 --> 00:27:26.082 A police officer has been killed. 00:27:26.149 --> 00:27:28.985 A nurse has been severely injured. 00:27:29.052 --> 00:27:31.187 This bombing is probably 00:27:31.254 --> 00:27:32.856 connected to our bombings. 00:27:32.889 --> 00:27:34.791 It's the fulfilment of the promise. 00:27:36.526 --> 00:27:38.728 The next abortion clinic might not be empty. 00:27:40.363 --> 00:27:43.266 As everyone is running toward the explosion 00:27:43.366 --> 00:27:45.268 to see what happened, 00:27:45.368 --> 00:27:47.303 we find something, very, very important. 00:27:49.005 --> 00:27:51.741 An alert medical student sees a person 00:27:51.808 --> 00:27:55.011 almost nonchalantly walking the other way. 00:27:55.078 --> 00:27:57.747 And somehow intuits that this person 00:27:57.814 --> 00:28:00.116 must be involved in the bombing in some way. 00:28:03.186 --> 00:28:05.655 Sees him get into a grey Nissan pickup, 00:28:05.689 --> 00:28:08.458 he writes down the license plate, 00:28:08.558 --> 00:28:10.226 the person goes in the wind. 00:28:12.929 --> 00:28:15.532 The description that he gives 00:28:15.532 --> 00:28:18.101 matches the NASA analysis of the Blob Man photograph. 00:28:19.335 --> 00:28:20.937 The plate comes back... 00:28:20.970 --> 00:28:22.772 Thank you. 00:28:22.839 --> 00:28:25.875 To an Eric Robert Rudolph. 00:28:25.942 --> 00:28:27.877 That's a eureka moment. 00:28:27.944 --> 00:28:28.945 For the first time, 00:28:29.045 --> 00:28:30.947 I allow myself to say something out loud. 00:28:31.047 --> 00:28:32.615 I went, 'Yes!' 00:28:34.417 --> 00:28:36.352 Now the game had changed. 00:28:36.419 --> 00:28:38.688 He was no longer a "blob man." 00:28:38.788 --> 00:28:42.425 No longer was some unknown subject hunting us. 00:28:44.794 --> 00:28:47.163 We were now on a path to hunting them. 00:29:03.613 --> 00:29:05.215 Whoa. 00:29:06.816 --> 00:29:09.052 Having been involved with the bombing investigations 00:29:09.119 --> 00:29:12.455 exclusively for 18 months... 00:29:14.090 --> 00:29:16.259 I was elated. 00:29:16.292 --> 00:29:18.895 Now we know who he is, 00:29:18.928 --> 00:29:20.563 we can get him located 00:29:20.630 --> 00:29:23.032 and get him arrested. 00:29:23.099 --> 00:29:24.467 His registration came back 00:29:24.534 --> 00:29:27.771 to an apartment in Asheville, North Carolina. 00:29:33.910 --> 00:29:35.912 So when we arrived at the apartment complex, 00:29:36.012 --> 00:29:39.182 we quickly learned that Eric Rudolph 00:29:39.282 --> 00:29:41.918 did not live at the apartment any more. 00:29:43.186 --> 00:29:44.921 But we got a picture of Eric... 00:29:50.960 --> 00:29:53.029 wearing clothing that resembled 00:29:53.062 --> 00:29:55.565 certain clothing that had been observed 00:29:55.598 --> 00:29:57.700 in one of the previous bombings in Atlanta. 00:30:02.605 --> 00:30:04.040 He's the right size, 00:30:04.140 --> 00:30:05.975 the right shape, the right color. 00:30:07.811 --> 00:30:09.512 We have someone that was followed 00:30:09.512 --> 00:30:11.848 from a bomb site... 00:30:11.848 --> 00:30:14.184 to North Carolina. 00:30:14.217 --> 00:30:16.152 That area was a known hotbed 00:30:16.219 --> 00:30:18.521 for anti-government sentiment. 00:30:18.588 --> 00:30:20.690 Eric had circled in that orbit. 00:30:22.358 --> 00:30:24.327 He's been in the military, 00:30:24.427 --> 00:30:26.596 trained in ambush techniques. 00:30:28.631 --> 00:30:31.701 A lone wolf, keeps to himself. 00:30:32.969 --> 00:30:35.538 And you can feel the pieces starting to drop together. 00:30:42.745 --> 00:30:44.614 We ran him through 00:30:44.714 --> 00:30:47.283 multiple governmental sources. 00:30:47.350 --> 00:30:49.352 He doesn't have charge accounts. 00:30:49.385 --> 00:30:51.254 He didn't use credit cards. 00:30:51.287 --> 00:30:52.922 He has no police record. 00:30:52.989 --> 00:30:56.125 He didn't worry about social security, taxes. 00:30:56.192 --> 00:30:59.028 This man is off the grid. 00:30:59.095 --> 00:31:00.697 Unseeable and unseen. 00:31:08.671 --> 00:31:10.006 Eric Robert Rudolph - 00:31:10.106 --> 00:31:11.574 police say his pickup truck 00:31:11.641 --> 00:31:14.010 was seen driving away from the Birmingham clinic 00:31:14.110 --> 00:31:16.579 just after the bomb went off. 00:31:16.646 --> 00:31:17.847 The decision had been made 00:31:17.947 --> 00:31:22.118 that we would go public with Eric Rudolph's name. 00:31:24.487 --> 00:31:27.957 An old friend of Eric's contacted us 00:31:28.024 --> 00:31:30.493 and said that Eric's primary occupation 00:31:30.526 --> 00:31:32.595 was he was a pot grower. 00:31:32.662 --> 00:31:35.431 Naturally, in 1996, 00:31:35.498 --> 00:31:37.500 it's a cash-only business. 00:31:37.600 --> 00:31:40.069 Eric had survival skills, 00:31:40.136 --> 00:31:43.139 ranging from gathering food, to weapons, 00:31:43.239 --> 00:31:46.042 to establishing hiding places. 00:31:46.142 --> 00:31:48.044 The last he knew, Eric was living 00:31:48.044 --> 00:31:50.880 in the Murphy, North Carolina area. 00:31:53.816 --> 00:31:55.618 We get to Murphy 00:31:55.685 --> 00:31:57.420 and there's an excitement, 00:31:57.453 --> 00:31:59.055 we think we have him now. 00:32:01.925 --> 00:32:04.894 It was about 8:30 in the evening. 00:32:04.994 --> 00:32:05.995 Dark. 00:32:06.062 --> 00:32:07.730 And we were hoping that we would certainly 00:32:07.730 --> 00:32:09.933 have the element of surprise. 00:32:11.801 --> 00:32:15.071 There were lights on inside the trailer. 00:32:15.104 --> 00:32:18.374 So, we had the benefit of the cover of darkness. 00:32:19.909 --> 00:32:22.078 The one thing that we found strange 00:32:22.178 --> 00:32:24.580 was being that it was a cold January night, 00:32:24.647 --> 00:32:28.284 the front door was open. 00:32:32.288 --> 00:32:35.725 It was a serious tactical situation. 00:32:35.758 --> 00:32:38.828 He could have been lying in wait with firearms. 00:32:40.296 --> 00:32:42.598 He could have had the place rigged with explosives. 00:32:44.567 --> 00:32:45.735 So we decided to 00:32:45.768 --> 00:32:47.837 put the property under surveillance 00:32:47.870 --> 00:32:49.772 and sit and wait. 00:32:58.114 --> 00:33:01.050 So night passed and no one came, no one left. 00:33:05.054 --> 00:33:06.656 He had fled. 00:33:08.224 --> 00:33:09.959 Once agents entered the trailer, 00:33:10.059 --> 00:33:12.128 they could tell that he had packed hastily. 00:33:12.228 --> 00:33:13.529 We find his Bible, 00:33:13.596 --> 00:33:15.598 we find some of his notes. 00:33:15.631 --> 00:33:17.867 But there's a moment of deep disappointment. 00:33:18.868 --> 00:33:20.903 Because somehow once again, 00:33:20.970 --> 00:33:22.572 he slips out of our grasp. 00:33:24.107 --> 00:33:25.708 And then, we received a phone call 00:33:25.708 --> 00:33:27.710 that Eric Rudolph's truck had been found. 00:33:28.811 --> 00:33:31.280 Not far from his trailer. 00:33:32.248 --> 00:33:33.983 The investigators step back from the truck 00:33:34.017 --> 00:33:35.718 and they look around them. 00:33:42.091 --> 00:33:45.428 Eric had gone to ground in the Nantahal National Forest. 00:33:47.530 --> 00:33:50.166 It's a double growth, triple growth forest, 00:33:50.266 --> 00:33:51.534 in which the mountain laurels 00:33:51.567 --> 00:33:53.169 grow underneath the dogwoods, 00:33:53.202 --> 00:33:55.171 which grow underneath the pine trees. 00:33:55.204 --> 00:33:56.806 It's almost impenetrable. 00:33:58.941 --> 00:34:02.478 Throw a doll in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean 00:34:02.545 --> 00:34:04.313 and then go find it. 00:34:04.380 --> 00:34:06.382 That's how hard it was. 00:34:23.132 --> 00:34:26.069 After it was determined the trailer was safe, 00:34:26.135 --> 00:34:28.171 evidence recovery teams went through the trailer 00:34:28.171 --> 00:34:30.106 looking for anything that could be related 00:34:30.106 --> 00:34:32.141 to the bombings in Atlanta. 00:34:33.242 --> 00:34:34.911 We take the dog in. 00:34:34.944 --> 00:34:37.480 The first place he hit on was an area of a carpet. 00:34:39.782 --> 00:34:41.350 We cut out a piece of carpet, 00:34:41.417 --> 00:34:44.487 did a quick vapor test with our EGIS machine, 00:34:44.587 --> 00:34:49.325 and every one of them gave us a positive reading 00:34:49.425 --> 00:34:51.627 for ethylene glycol dinitrate, 00:34:51.694 --> 00:34:53.629 which shocked me because, man, 00:34:53.629 --> 00:34:56.966 that's what we're looking for. 00:34:56.999 --> 00:34:59.602 That means that we got dynamite residues in his house. 00:35:12.748 --> 00:35:16.452 I went out on the search of the storage building he had rented. 00:35:16.519 --> 00:35:20.456 We found a VHS tape, 00:35:20.523 --> 00:35:22.758 one-year anniversary of the Olympic Park bombing. 00:35:25.628 --> 00:35:28.364 Cut masonry nails from Ace Hardware. 00:35:28.397 --> 00:35:29.899 Agents went to that 00:35:29.932 --> 00:35:33.436 and discovered Eric bought a lot of components in the bombs. 00:35:37.273 --> 00:35:40.109 Everything we find is drawing the web of evidence 00:35:40.209 --> 00:35:43.112 tighter and tighter around Eric Rudolph. 00:35:43.212 --> 00:35:45.281 The steel plates... 00:35:46.849 --> 00:35:49.752 the explosives. 00:35:49.785 --> 00:35:53.289 We're able to link everything to him. 00:36:03.966 --> 00:36:05.768 Charges are filed, 00:36:05.801 --> 00:36:08.204 charging him with three bombings in Atlanta 00:36:08.271 --> 00:36:11.440 and the bombing in Birmingham, Alabama. 00:36:15.945 --> 00:36:17.313 Today the federal government 00:36:17.346 --> 00:36:19.182 is charging Eric Robert Rudolph 00:36:19.248 --> 00:36:23.252 with the bombings in the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. 00:36:23.319 --> 00:36:25.321 We had a case that when confronted 00:36:25.354 --> 00:36:26.622 by the forensic evidence, 00:36:26.689 --> 00:36:29.158 he would have no option but to plead guilty. 00:36:29.258 --> 00:36:31.327 All we need is somebody to come in and stand trial. 00:36:33.696 --> 00:36:36.699 A massive manhunt is underway to find Rudolph. 00:36:38.601 --> 00:36:41.637 Eric knew the area we were searching 00:36:41.704 --> 00:36:43.606 like the back of his hand. 00:36:47.810 --> 00:36:49.178 I spent countless hours 00:36:49.278 --> 00:36:50.746 working on this investigation 00:36:50.813 --> 00:36:53.349 and hundreds of other FBI, ATF agents, 00:36:53.449 --> 00:36:56.452 GBI agents, North Carolina SBI agents, 00:36:56.485 --> 00:36:57.920 Sheriff's Department deputies, 00:36:57.987 --> 00:37:00.823 we all spent so many hours on this man hunt. 00:37:02.358 --> 00:37:05.027 This was a major effort by 00:37:05.027 --> 00:37:07.730 all the agencies to find him. 00:37:10.466 --> 00:37:13.569 The hunt went on for over five years. 00:37:13.636 --> 00:37:15.871 We had unlimited resources 00:37:15.938 --> 00:37:18.841 and yet we couldn't catch him. 00:37:18.941 --> 00:37:21.644 Over time, there were no sightings, 00:37:21.677 --> 00:37:23.045 there was no fresh information. 00:37:23.112 --> 00:37:24.213 There was no contact. 00:37:24.313 --> 00:37:26.849 All of our patrols gave us nothing. 00:37:30.119 --> 00:37:33.656 He had won in that we couldn't catch him. 00:37:33.689 --> 00:37:35.658 We had won from the standpoint 00:37:35.691 --> 00:37:37.326 no more bombs went off. 00:37:37.393 --> 00:37:39.428 It's like playing to a draw. 00:37:39.495 --> 00:37:40.663 We knew he did it, 00:37:40.763 --> 00:37:42.732 we could prove he did it but we can't capture him. 00:37:44.667 --> 00:37:48.271 He could hide for the rest of his life. 00:37:53.242 --> 00:37:55.811 Unfortunately, 9/11 occurred, 00:37:55.878 --> 00:37:58.914 Eric fell by the wayside. 00:37:58.981 --> 00:38:02.418 The task force was disbanded 00:38:02.518 --> 00:38:04.553 but I still felt he was up there. 00:38:04.620 --> 00:38:07.790 The FBI case agent felt he was still up there. 00:38:07.823 --> 00:38:10.793 But again, we just couldn't find him. 00:38:27.543 --> 00:38:30.446 On the night of May 31st 2003, 00:38:30.479 --> 00:38:32.281 I was a rookie police officer 00:38:32.381 --> 00:38:34.750 for the Murphy, North Carolina Police Department. 00:38:34.817 --> 00:38:38.220 I was the only patrol officer on duty after 2 AM. 00:38:39.822 --> 00:38:41.090 Typically, at those hours, 00:38:41.190 --> 00:38:45.394 I began checking my businesses and shopping centers. 00:38:45.461 --> 00:38:49.665 And as I began coming around the side of the building, 00:38:49.732 --> 00:38:51.867 I could see an individual's silhouette. 00:38:54.337 --> 00:38:59.342 It looked like he was carrying some type of a long weapon. 00:38:59.408 --> 00:39:02.244 I had no idea who I had just rolled up on. 00:39:11.320 --> 00:39:13.055 Sir! 00:39:13.122 --> 00:39:14.690 Sir...! 00:39:16.125 --> 00:39:18.160 I immediately got on the radio 00:39:18.227 --> 00:39:19.862 and called for back-up. 00:39:22.431 --> 00:39:24.133 Sir? Sir! 00:39:25.234 --> 00:39:27.503 Hands where I can see them, sir! 00:39:27.603 --> 00:39:28.904 It was scary because you don't know 00:39:28.971 --> 00:39:30.973 what this individual's intent was. 00:39:31.073 --> 00:39:32.141 Sir! 00:39:32.241 --> 00:39:33.809 Get out! 00:39:35.144 --> 00:39:36.512 Sir! 00:39:36.545 --> 00:39:38.981 Get out here now! 00:39:43.152 --> 00:39:44.787 The individual emerged. 00:39:46.355 --> 00:39:48.457 Get on the ground now! 00:39:48.524 --> 00:39:50.893 He got down on the ground face first. 00:39:58.267 --> 00:40:01.170 One of the responding officers 00:40:01.270 --> 00:40:04.006 shined his flashlight in his face 00:40:04.106 --> 00:40:07.042 and he says, he has a really uncanny resemblance 00:40:07.042 --> 00:40:09.011 to Eric Rudolph. 00:40:13.015 --> 00:40:14.417 I'd been on the force for 10 months 00:40:14.483 --> 00:40:16.018 and Eric Rudolph's name 00:40:16.051 --> 00:40:17.820 had been brought up several times. 00:40:19.021 --> 00:40:21.657 He was still on the FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted. 00:40:24.293 --> 00:40:25.961 What went through my mind was, 00:40:25.995 --> 00:40:27.930 what if this is really him? 00:40:28.030 --> 00:40:29.932 Tell me your name, sir. 00:40:30.032 --> 00:40:32.234 Sir, tell me your name. 00:40:32.301 --> 00:40:33.936 Tell us who you really are. 00:40:36.972 --> 00:40:39.308 And he says in the coldest, 00:40:39.341 --> 00:40:41.343 darkest look possible, 00:40:41.410 --> 00:40:43.446 "I'm Eric Robert Rudolph and you've got me." 00:40:48.584 --> 00:40:52.087 I called them and said, you know, what's happened? 00:40:52.154 --> 00:40:53.856 "Got him? Is it confirmed?" 00:40:53.889 --> 00:40:55.090 "Yes, we have him." 00:40:55.157 --> 00:40:56.625 And I was elated by that, 00:40:56.692 --> 00:40:58.427 all those people from all those agencies 00:40:58.461 --> 00:41:01.797 worked so hard to gather all that evidence 00:41:01.864 --> 00:41:05.468 and now it would come into play... 00:41:05.534 --> 00:41:07.670 and he would answer for his crimes. 00:41:08.237 --> 00:41:11.240 The US Attorney, Dave Nahmias called me 00:41:11.273 --> 00:41:13.642 and he said, we can seek the death penalty for him. 00:41:13.709 --> 00:41:15.344 You are a victim. 00:41:15.444 --> 00:41:17.346 And it's Federal law that you will contact the victims 00:41:17.346 --> 00:41:18.948 and ask their opinion about that. 00:41:18.981 --> 00:41:21.350 And I said Dave, I don't feel like I'm a victim, 00:41:21.383 --> 00:41:22.985 I was just doing my job. 00:41:32.628 --> 00:41:33.762 Every unit in the lab 00:41:33.829 --> 00:41:37.666 spent a tremendous amount of time working on this particular case. 00:41:37.733 --> 00:41:40.836 Everyone did an excellent job. 00:41:40.903 --> 00:41:42.304 It's a great feeling to know 00:41:42.371 --> 00:41:45.941 that a serial bomber was captured. 00:41:46.008 --> 00:41:47.943 I mean, was he capable of doing another bomb? 00:41:48.010 --> 00:41:50.012 Absolutely. 00:41:50.112 --> 00:41:52.481 It was fun at times. 00:41:52.581 --> 00:41:54.283 It was heartbreaking at times. 00:41:54.316 --> 00:41:56.385 But I think I helped keep the guy 00:41:56.485 --> 00:41:57.920 from killing other people, 00:41:58.020 --> 00:41:59.688 so that's always a good feeling.