April 19, 1995

On this day, Timothy McVeigh and his friend Terry Nichols attacked the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City with a 5,000lbs bomb in a truck. The bomb was composed of ammonium nitrate, an agricultural fertilizer, and nitromethane; a highly volatile motor-racing fuel—a mixture also known as Kinepak or ANFO (ammonium nitrate/fuel oil).



The effect of the bombing on the city was immense. Beyond the death toll - 168 confirmed dead including 19 children and one rescue worker, plus an unidentified leg indicating a possible 169th - the bomb injured over 800 people and destroyed or seriously damaged more than 300 buildings in the surrounding area, leaving several hundred people homeless and shutting down offices in downtown Oklahoma City. By some estimates, more than one-third of the nearly half-million residents of Oklahoma City knew someone who was killed or injured in the bombing. Over 12,000 people participated in relief and rescue operations in the days following the blast, many of whom developed post-traumatic stress disorder as a result. Although all area hospitals received victims of the blast, the majority were taken to St. Anthony Hospital, closest to the blast area. The national and worldwide humanitarian response was immediate and overwhelming, as was the media response. The area was flooded with rescue workers from around the nation and aid agencies coming to assist the survivors, as well as hundreds of news trucks coming to cover the story.



The effects on the childern
In the wake of the bombing, schools across the country were dismissed early and ordered closed. The fact that 19 of the victims had been children, most of them in the building's day care center, was seized upon by the national media. A photograph of firefighter Chris Fields removing infant Baylee Almon (who later died in a nearby hospital) from the rubble was reprinted worldwide and soon became a symbol of the tragedy. The photo, taken by utility company employee Charles H. Porter IV, earned the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography. In addition to the children with a direct connection to the bombing, others became distressed after hearing media reports and later research established that many showed symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.


Trial and aftermath
The remains of the half-destroyed Federal building were demolished in MaySome legislation was also introduced in response to the attack, notably the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996. Until the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Oklahoma City bombing was the worst act of terrorism within U.S. borders, but not the worst against the United States (the worst act of terrorism against the U.S. before 9/11 was Pan Am Flight 103). The site became part of the National Park Service. On February 19, 2001 an Oklahoma City bombing museum was dedicated at the Oklahoma City National Memorial Center. 1995.

"In the largest criminal case in U.S. history, FBI agents conducted 28,000 interviews and collected 3.5 tons of evidence and almost 1 billion pieces of information in the Oklahoma City bombing case."

Michael Fortier, an accomplice and key informant, was sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined $200,000 on May 27, 1998 for failing to warn authorities about the attack. He was released for good behavior on January 20, 2006.

Timothy McVeigh was sentenced to death for the bombing, after being convicted of, among other things, murdering federal law enforcement officials. He was executed by lethal injection at a U.S. penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana, on June 11, 2001. An accomplice, Terry Nichols, was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of manslaughter in a federal court trial. Nichols stood trial in McAlester, Oklahoma, on state murder charges starting on March 1, 2004, and was convicted of 160 counts of first-degree murder, plus other felony charges on May 26. The penalty phase of the state trial, in which he could have been given the death penalty, ended in a jury deadlock. He was sentenced to 160 consecutive life without parole sentences by the Presiding Judge Steven W. Taylor.

In many ways, the Oklahoma City bombing spelled the end of the anti-government militia movement to which McVeigh was linked. In the years following the bombing most such groups either disbanded or were pushed farther to the fringes of American politics. Additionally, by being the first major American city to suffer a mass-casualty terrorist attack, Oklahoma City's response to the bombing was carefully scrutinized by security experts and law enforcement in the years following the bombing, and then again following the attacks of September 11, 2001 attacks.
In the weeks immediately after the Oklahoma City bombing, the federal government surrounded federal buildings in all major cities with prefabricated Jersey barriers to ward off similar attacks. In the decade since, most (but not all) of these temporary barriers have been replaced with permanent security barriers which look more attractive and are driven deep into the ground (so that they are more sturdy). Furthermore, all new federal buildings must be constructed with truck-resistant barriers and with deep setbacks from surrounding streets to minimize their vulnerability to truck bombs.


In February 2004, the federal government reopened their investigation into the bombing after FBI agents investigating the MidWest Bank Robbers (a white supremacist gang McVeigh had associated with prior to the bombing) discovered blasting caps of the same type used in the Oklahoma City bombing. Later in 2004 at the Terry Nichols state bombing trial, Judge Steven W. Taylor found there to be no credible, relevant or legally admissible evidence of any persons other than McVeigh and Nichols having directly participated in the bombing of the Murrah federal building.

In 2004, a new federal campus (designed with a special focus on security) opened in Oklahoma City, a block from the site of the bombing.


Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial


Flowers and personal items left on several of the 168 memorial chairs on the 10th anniversary of the bombing.

rest in peace people..

Why did he do it?

Hard to believe that was 11 years ago.

Eleven years ago and it was yesterday (or) it seems that way. I can remember all of the accusations and speculation that was flying like raindrops in the wind.

I can also remember the search that went on nation wide for the second man.

Who would ever think that the second man (Terry Nichols) would land in my backyard ... I live in Midland MI (Mills) township and Nichols farm was in Hope Michigan which is less that three miles from my driveway. Not only was Nichols from Michigan ... but ... wasn't McVeigh rumored to have associated with the Michigan Militia??

Here we set, the Twin Towers destruction has overshadowed the destruction of the Murrah Federal Building. Our innocence prior to the Oklahoma City bombing was shattered by McVeigh's bomb ... however ... when the Twin Towers were destroyed, the "how could this happen" mindset was still in place.

Never again will this nation be at peace with the thought that terrorists would NEVER attack American Shores.

So on the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, remember all those who died in the Murrah Building and the Twin Towers ... wish those who had family or friends who perished, the peace they deserve.

I have been to both sites.

At Oklahoma, there was a patch and note left there by a NYPD officer.

It said that He and his fellow officer will still not forget what happened in Oklahoma. And that together, Ney York and Oklahoma will stop terrorism.

We were to help with the rescue/recovery. I'll never forget those kids and the parent's faces. Ever.

I can remember seeing this in the news as a small child. Anyone read No Heroes? Among other things, it goes into great detail about McVeigh and his various heinous acts.

i just went to the museum of it the day before easter it was pretty cool and you can feel the sorrow of the people who died there while walking around

Yeah I remember when this tragedy happened. May all the victims Rest in Peace.

Not in ANY way to disrespect your fallen.
But it seems only when the horror hits your soil you wake up.
Terror has been around a LONG TIME.
We must all work together to stop it.
STOP LOOKING FOR REASONS AND START LOOKING FOR SOLUTIONS!