Social Studies

Terrorist Attack
Oklahoma Bombing of the Murrah Federal Building

At precisely 9.02am on April 19, 1995 a domestic terrorist truck bombing occurred
in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City. The
bomb was made from a deadly cocktail of agricultural fertilizer, diesel fuel, and
other chemicals. The human toll of the blast was devastating with 168 souls lost,
19 of which were children and more than 680 injured. After the bomb exploded, a
third of the building was destroyed as well as the surrounding area. The damage
was estimated to be worth 652 million dollars. It was known to be the worst act
of homegrown terrorism in the nation’s history.
The perpetrators of this heinous act were Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols.
Both were former US Army soldiers and were associated with the extreme right-
wing and militant Patriot Movement. The Patriot Movement rejects the legitimacy
of the federal government and law enforcement. McVeigh claimed to target the
building in Oklahoma City to avenge the raid on Waco.
The offender Timothy McVeigh was arrested during a traffic stop for driving a
vehicle without a license plate. Sometime after this McVeigh's alleged co-
conspirator, Terry Nichols turns himself in. McVeigh was convicted on 11 counts
of murder, conspiracy and using a weapon of mass destruction. He is later
sentenced to death. While Nichols is convicted on federal charges of conspiracy
and eight counts of involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to life in prison.
Nichols is now serving his sentence at the Supermax federal prison in Florence,
Colorado.

Bibliography:
https://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/18/us/oklahoma-city-bombing-fast-
facts/index.html
https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/oklahoma-city-bombing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_bombing