On April 19th, 1995 a homemade bomb made of a concoction of agricultural fertilizer, fuel, and other dangerous chemicals was left in a truck parked outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building in Oklahoma City. At 9:02 in the morning, it’s blast damaged over 300 buildings surrounding the vehicle and even flattened a third of the federal building. (Strom, 2015) The bomb took the lives of 168 people, including 19 children. It was found that two men, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Lynn Nichols were the ones who planted the device. Both men were found to be associated with a radical militia movement that sought revenge for a siege in Waco, Texas two years prior. The siege killed 82 Branch Davidians, of whom, multiple were related to the militia movement.
McVeigh and Nichols saw an opportunity to destroy a building full of innocent people, because of their extremist mindset. They decided tp destroy a building full of innocent people who work because of their extremist ways. Something that was seemingly odd was that McVeigh was a Persian Gulf war veteran and Nichols was his military friend. A third man whose name was Michael Fortier also had information regarding the detonation of the bomb at the building, Fortier later plead guilty for harboring information of the explosion.
In the days following the explosion, the Federal Bureau of Investigation had little trouble finding the ones responsible. Though it would prove incomprehensible to the families who lost loved ones to move on
The main reason that Timothy McVeigh was investigated for his involvement into the Oklahoma City Bombing was because he had been arrested for possessing and transporting a loaded handgun that was found being stopped for no license plate on his vehicle. This happened only within 90 minutes of the explosion after he had left the Murrah Federal Building. Evidence linked McVeigh and Terry Nichols to the attack and Nichols was arrested later. Nichols was linked to assisting in the stealing and purchasing of the bomb materials along with McVeigh that they stored in storage lockers. McVeigh rented the Ryder truck under an alias and drove it to the Murrah Federal Building on the day of the bombing. Terry Nichols parked a getaway car several blocks
When it came to the evidence and forensics involved with the Oklahoma City bombing, there was a plethora of items to be used against Timothy McVeigh to show his guilt. To prove McVeigh’s guilt, the prosecution needed a motive. This was not going to be hard to do when McVeigh himself was so outspoken against the federal government. As stated earlier, McVeigh was upset regarding Ruby Ridge and also the raid at the Branch Davidian compound. But McVeigh also had what was known as the “Turner Diaries”, which were antigovernment leaflets that the prosecution stated were blueprints for the bombing ("Prosecutors almost through", 1997). McVeigh’s very own sister also testified against him stating how angry he was at the government, and that he was
Tanner, your post this week was well written, and we both had similar views from the evidence collected at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. Consequently, from the rubble, investigators located the Ryder rental truck’s rear axle, which proved to be a vital piece of evidence in solving the Oklahoma City Bombing and establishing Timothy McVeigh’s involvement. Additionally, Tanner we both identified that from the truck’s rear axle, investigators were able to trace the vehicle to its rented location in Junction City, Kansas (FBI, n.d.). Furthermore, we both discussed how the FBI and the body shop’s employees developed a composite drawing of the Robert Kling, which is the alias Timothy McVeigh used to rent the truck (Saferstein, 2015).
Tim McVeigh was not coerced into bombing the Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City, nor do I believe he suffered from a mental disease. On April 19, 1995 Timothy, who was an ex-solider, decided to bomb a federal building. He rented a Ryder truck and parked the vehicle in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. Tim was fully aware of the damage the bomb would cause, which was made out of hazardous cocktail of agricultural fertilizer, diesel fuel and several other potent chemicals. The explosion of that powerful bomb resulted in the killing of one hundred sixty-five innocent people, destruction of more than three hundred buildings, leaving almost six hundred individuals wounded. Shortly after the mass murder of numerous individuals,
Timothy McVeigh left a moving truck he had leased before the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in the downtown area of Oklahoma City. McVeigh intentionally had plans to execute and kill people, the federal government as the target, by way of a massive bomb. He carried out the plan that rocked the Oklahoma City and caught the U. S. by surprise, however, which it did not take the FBI long to find the person behind the act. On April 20, the back hub of the Ryder was found, which produced a vehicle number that was led FBI to shop in Kansas. Personnel at the shop assisted FBI by rapidly giving them a composite drawing of the person who leased the van. Specialists revealed the drawing throughout the town, nevertheless, nearby hotel workers identified the person in the sketched drawing as Timothy McVeigh. A prompt call to the FBI in West Virginia on April 21 led to a shocking disclosure: McVeigh was at that point in prison. This was an amazing discovery for the investigators who classified McVeigh as a suspect responsible for the bombing on the Federal Building and he was charged.
McVeigh had used a unique type of bomb for his big scheme, and he had quite the quantity of it. In fact he had possibly over “40 one-fifth-pound bags of ammonium nitrate fertilizer--the chief ingredient in the Oklahoma bomb” (Lacayo). McVeigh was familiar with the structures of bombs with his time in the army. Over fourty bags of those ingredients could cause a big blast and he was well aware of it. It was known that McVeigh had used a Ryder Van to use as the bomb base. After all, a Ryder van does not alarm danger to anyone that a bomb would explode inside
“This is it”, Will said softly as the he is in tower was collapsing. The jet fuel in an inferno about 20 feet away, scorching the concrete. There are dismembered limbs, scorched around him. He remembers the moments before the plane hit the 1st tower. He was terrified when he saw the plane collide. There were objects and debris flying everywhere. The people around him were terrified, wondering if the people in the other tower were alright. The tower was shook from the impact. He knew that he had to run, or else he would die. He sprinted as fast as he could to the stairs, when he was younger he had a similar experience, the Oklahoma City bombing.
April 19, 1995 marked the worst terrorist attack on United States soil until the fatal September 11, attack. The truck-bomb explosion outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City , Oklahoma left 168 people dead, which included 19 children that were in the buildings daycare center at the time, more than 500 injured along with the damage of 300 buildings in the surrounding area. The attack was spearheaded by Timothy McVeigh, along with his co-partner Terry Nichols and to a lesser degree, Michael and Lori Fortier. The attack was in retaliation to other incidents, one at Ruby Ridge Idaho, and the other at Waco Texas. Both were raids by the government on militia or religious fanatics. Civilians were killed in both these actions
After the bombing in Oklahoma City, most of the federal buildings went into some type of lockdown going into the building and around the building which has probably cut down on some loss and injury. Otherwise all we can do is continue studying the problems and improve on our methods. Their is no magic wand to cure these acts of terrorism.
The thing that was the most surprising was the person who did and planned this whole thing. That man was Timothy McVeigh age 33. This man was someone who i thought would never do it because of his background. He grew up in a town called Pendleton, New York. He was raised their as a child and mover all over town at his young age. Although he seems like a bad person he really wasn't. He was the kid in school that wanted to be a engineer and make the big bucks. He was one of the most intelligent kids in his class and had A’s and B’s in high school. One thing people thought was cool about him was he was interested in guns as a child. He loved to shoot targets with his grandpa that he loved very well and enjoyed spending time with. His grandpa was someone who taught him how to shoot a gun and make a bomb out of things around the house. While he knew how to do that he did it quite often and was told to stop before he got hurt. His childhood was like many others that you here about.
It was April 19, 1995 at 9:03 that the lives of thousands were affected by one single
The Oklahoma City bomb is labled as a terrorist attack. Leaving over 168 dead, an hundreds more injured. Timothy James McVeigh was also an American citizen. This man never travled outside the United States for any type of traning nor learning.
Inside a hour and a half of the blast, McVeigh was halted by Oklahoma State Trooper Charlie Hanger for driving without a tag and captured for unlawful weapons ownership. Legal confirmation immediately connected McVeigh and Nichols to the assault; Nichols was captured, and inside days both were charged. Michael and Lori Fortier were later distinguished as assistants. McVeigh, a U.S. volunteer army development sympathizer who was a Gulf War veteran, had exploded a Ryder rental truck brimming with explosives stopped before the building. McVeigh 's co-schemer, Nichols, had helped with the bomb planning. Spurred by his
The FBI bomb squad retrieved and examined the remaining 4 devices after one had exploded causing no injuries (CNN, 2016). "We have every reason to believe this was an act of terror." Said New York Mayor Bill de Blasio in the news article. (CNN, 2016) This news article is an excellent representation on how to convey a moral panic situation. The descriptive and emotional language used in the news article describes the perpetrator as a terrorist who injured 29 American citizens and had intended to cause even more significant damage with another five explosive devices found in the vicinity.
The heart of the country was broken into shambles on April 19th, 1995. On this day, the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was attacked, and the bombing caused the building to be completely destroyed. Not only Oklahomans, but people around the world were left speechless and fearful of what was yet to come. The leader of this attack was Timothy James McVeigh, a very anti-government individual. He sought out a detailed plan on how this bombing was going to unfold. Step by step, he created a plan that he believed he could pursue. It all began at 9:01 A.M. in downtown Oklahoma City, and the blast not only affected those who were inside the building, but also those who were in the surrounding areas. “As a result, 169 persons, including 19