Search on for witness in Alabama bombing

FBI agents question UAB students about the bombing

FBI seeks North Carolina man in gray pickup

January 30, 1998
Web posted at: 9:24 p.m. EDT (2124 GMT)

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (CNN) -- Federal authorities are seeking a North Carolina man who they say may be a material witness in Thursday's fatal bombing at a Birmingham clinic where abortions are performed.

A warrant was issued Thursday for Eric Rudolph, a 31-year-old white male, whose last known address was Marble, North Carolina. He is registered as the owner of a gray Nissan pickup truck seen in the vicinity of the clinic around the time of the blast.

An all-points bulletin has also been issued for the truck, which bears North Carolina license plate KND-1117. Rudolph's identity was obtained through a trace of that car tag number, which was provided by a witness, federal investigators said.

'He is simply a witness'

U.S. Attorney Doug Jones
U.S. Attorney Doug Jones speaks about the possible material witness
1M/48 sec. AIFF or WAV sound

However, U.S. Attorney Doug Jones emphasized that Rudolph was not considered a suspect in the bombing.

"No one should jump to any conclusions ... He is simply a witness at this point," said Jones. "We would like to question Mr. Rudolph concerning the truck and its presence in Birmingham."

Sheriff Jack Thompson of Cherokee County, North Carolina, where Marble is located in the extreme western corner of the state, said he was assisting the FBI in searching for Rudolph.

Authorities also looked for Rudolph at an apartment in a suburb of Asheville, where federal officials say the pickup was registered, but discovered he no longer lived there.

The bomb killed off-duty police officer Robert Sanderson and severely injured nurse Emily Lyons.

The Birmingham News reported that a witness saw a man wearing a wig fleeing the area after the explosion. The man removed the wig as he ran, dropped it into a blue bag and got into a pickup, the paper said. Police would not comment on that report.

Fatal bomb contained nails

Site where the bomb exploded Thursday morning

The bomb outside the New Woman, All Women Health Care Clinic Thursday morning was designed to kill or maim, rather than causing property damage, said Jim Cavanaugh, an agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Cavanaugh disclosed that the bomb contained nails, but he would not say what type of nails were used in the device. He said the ATF continues to collect evidence at the scene, which investigators hope to use to reconstruct the bomb.

Nails were also used in a series of bombs that have gone off over the last 18 months in Atlanta, about 150 miles to the east. But Cavanaugh said any link with the Atlanta bombings is still "an open question" and that, at this point, it would be "purely speculative" to say there was any connection.

The bombings in Atlanta included an attack at Centennial Olympic Park during the 1996 Olympics, another at a clinic that performs abortions in the suburb of Sandy Springs in January 1997 and a third at a lesbian nightclub in February 1997.

Federal investigators have said there are some similarities between those bombings. The Olympic Park bombing killed one woman and injured dozens of people. There have been no arrests.

Clinics in Southeast on alert

In the wake of this week's bombing, clinics that provide abortions throughout the Southeast are on alert. The National Coalition of Abortion Providers issued an advisory telling clinic personnel to be on the lookout for a gray pickup truck.

"We literally looked at a map and started calling all clinics within a couple hours drive," said Ron Fitzsimmons, executive director of the coalition.

A flag outside the Birmingham Police Department flew at half-staff in honor of Sanderson, a police officer who was killed as he arrived for his moonlighting job as a security guard at the clinic.

Sanderson, 35, is the sixth person to die since March 1993 in violence targeting clinics that provide abortions. He was the first victim of a bombing; the five other victims were shot.

Officers wore black bands over their badges to honor their slain colleague. Funeral services have been scheduled for Monday.

Lyons, 41, remained hospitalized in intensive care, in critical condition, following nine hours of emergency surgery on Thursday.

She lost an eye and suffered severe injuries to her face, abdomen and leg, said Laura Mansfield, a spokeswoman for the University of Alabama-Birmingham Hospital.

Correspondent Kitty Pilgrim contributed to this report.

Special Section:

• Roe vs. Wade: 25 Years Later

Related stories:

• Women's clinics on alert after Birmingham bombing - January 30, 1998
• Witnesses questioned in fatal clinic bombing - January 29, 1998
• 1 dead, 1 critical in clinic bombing - January 29, 1998
• Explosion hits women's clinic in Alabama - January 29, 1998
• Teen arrested in Tulsa clinic bombings - February 6, 1997
• Explosion damages Atlanta family planning clinic - January 16, 1997

Related sites:

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• Birmingham Post-Herald
• Jefferson County Sheriff's Department
• U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms

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