After the bombing of the Murrah Building and damage to the outlying areas, and the murder of 168 innocent people, I, a deputy Sheriff then was assigned to guard the United States Marshal’s Office Control Center. During that time I was approached by a man of mid-eastern decent carrying a small package. He requested to enter the secured area and that he had something very important to give the marshals.
I told the man to return to the street until someone could be contacted for fear that the package may contain a deadly substance or bomb. He began arguing with me and demanding to enter. I turned and yelled at a nearby officer that I needed some help out front. I was honestly scared at this point that this guy was whacko. His appearance and strange persistence only added to my fears. I was thinking, there was nothing I could do not knowing the contents of his package and that if there was some kind of triggering mechanism to it I surely would be no obstacle in his way if he decided to go directly to Allah by way of ka-boooom. He then handed me the package.
When distracted by some voices in the compound nearby behind me, I turned to see who the people were. I observed two officers walking toward me cautiously, as I turned around to confront the stranger, he had disappeared faster than Houdini. I told one of the officers to watch the entrance while I quickly walked over to the other side of the street to place the package on the ground and away from the headquarters. I yelled that a guy had just handed me a strange package and disappeared, to call the bomb team. The bomb Squad was notified immediately as I stood near the package to ward anyone off from the area. A marshal walked up to me and I gave him the details and the guys description.
Later, the package was only found to have some anti-government literature and propaganda in it. The suspect was never found after an extensive search. During this same time period, a Sheriff deputy’s K9 dog had sniffed the same package before the bomb squad had arrived. This K9 became deathly sick later on and died. It is not known to this day what may have killed this fine brave dog, something in the package? No one knows.
The whole experience was very strange and scary. One must take into account that even after a great tragedy event, danger and more problems can still be present and occur.
