English/Nat
Four and a half months after a bomb exploded during the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, American investigators have decided to ask the public for help.
At a press conference in Atlanta on Monday, FBI officials played a tape with the voice of a man warning of the impending attack.
They also showed a knapsack similar to the one that contained the bomb, hoping that photographs taken that night might help identify the bomber.
July 27 was a black day for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.
While a huge crowd gathered to enjoy a concert in Centennial Park, a pipe bomb exploded in the early morning hours.
A woman was killed and more than one hundred people were injured in the blast.
And a cameraman rushing to the scene died of a heart attack.
Shortly after the bombing, the FBI arrested Richard Jewell, a security guard at the games who had first pointed out the knapsack to officers.
SOUNDBITE:
"I'm sure they're investigating everyone that was in the area."
SUPER CAPTION: Richard Jewell, Security Guard
Jewell had been put under suspicion on the possibility that he fit a known psychological type - someone thirsty for recognition, often by law enforcement, who creates a crisis so he can defuse it and become a hero.
But after nearly three months as the only named suspect, Jewell was cleared by the government on 26 October.
Stumped in its investigation, the FBI on Monday asked the public for help.
Deputy Director Weldon Kennedy announced there would be a reward of up to 500- thousand US dollars for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the bomber or bombers.
And he defended the lack of progress in the investigation.
SOUNDBITE:
"Keep in mind there have been other bombing cases that took 17 years to solve. There are other bombing cases that were never solved. We have been five months, we've done a lot of work with the task force of a hundred individuals, not only the FBI but the ATF and other law enforcement agencies that have been working diligently on this case.
The progress that we made is that we've been able to narrow the window of the placement of this bomb down to about a twenty minute time frame."
SUPER CAPTION: Weldon Kennedy, FBI Deputy Director
According to FBI officials, the bomb was carried in a green, army-style knapsack, which was left beneath a bench next to a sound tower in the park.
At the news conference, investigators displayed a replica of the knapsack and asked for witnesses or photographs taken in the park shortly before the attack that might help identify the person who carried it.
SOUNDBITE:
"There were literally thousands, if not millions of pieces of that pack scattered all over the place. The area of course was searched and combed and many of these tiny, tiny fragments had to be reassembled and put back together. It takes time to do that."
SUPER CAPTION: Weldon Kennedy, FBI Deputy Director
Kennedy also played a recording of the 911 call received by Atlanta police about 22 minutes before the bomb exploded.
UPSOUND:
"There is a bomb in Centennial Park. You have 30 minutes."
The FBI announced a U-S toll-free number for any information regarding the identity of the caller.
