August 2011, Vol. 238 No. 8
In The News
State, Fed Technicians Remove Bomb from Oklahoma Pipeline
The FBI announced Aug. 11 the discovery of an explosive device attached to a natural gas pipeline in Okemah, OK, about seventy miles east from Oklahoma City.
At approximately 11 a.m. August 10, the Okfuskee County Sheriff’s Office notified the FBI about a potential improvised explosive device (IED) attached to a gas line approximately five miles south of Okemah. The device was described as a 1’x1′ pipe bomb with a timing mechanism attached to it.
According to the FBI report, Oklahoma Highway Patrol Bomb Technicians along with Special Agent Bomb Technicians from the FBI responded to the area. The device was removed from the gas line and placed in a remote area for further examination. The FBI says the device has been rendered safe and the area was checked for additional devices. No other devices were found.
A Reuters report offered further description of the discovery: “The device appeared to be ‘pipe bomb and a wind-up clock’ attached to an above-ground natural gas pipeline in a remote area 5 miles south of Okemah in east-central Oklahoma, a spokeswoman for the Okfuskee County Sheriff’s office said.”
UPDATE: Daniel Herriman, an area native, called 911 several hours after the bomb was discovered August 10th to confess that he’d placed it there and wished to surrender to law enforcement. He was arrested August 12 and on August 16 appeared in U.S. district court and pleaded not guilty to the charges. The judge, Kimberly West, ordered a mental evaluation.
According to several news sources, Herriman told law enforcement that he placed the bomb on August 7th, three days before it was found by pipeline company employees, with a timer set to go off at 2 a.m. August 8th. The timer apparently failed. Herriman has no known connection to the company, Enerfin Resources, and his motive for planting the device is unknown.
See reports from the Associated Press, Oklahoma News 6 and Government Security News.
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