Oklahoma City Bombing
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Oklahoma City Bombing
Bill Clinton was
the 42nd American President who served in office from January 20, 1993 to January 20, 2001. One of the important
and devastating events during his presidency was the Oklahoma City Bombing.
Oklahoma City Bombing Facts: Fast Fact Sheet
Fast, fun facts and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
about the Oklahoma
City Bombing.
When was the Oklahoma City Bombing? The
date of the Oklahoma City Bombing was April
19, 1995
What kind of bomb was used in the Oklahoma
City Bombing? The bomb used in the Oklahoma
City Bombing was deadly cocktail of diesel
fuel, ammonium nitrate agricultural
fertilizer and other chemicals
Who planned and carried out the Oklahoma City
Bombing?
The Oklahoma City Bombing was perpetrated by
Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols. Lori and
Michael Fortier were considered accomplices
for their foreknowledge of the planning of
the bombing.
What is the address of the Oklahoma City
Bombing?
The address of the Oklahoma City Bombing was
the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, 200
Northwest 5th Street, Downtown Oklahoma
City, Oklahoma, U.S.
Who designed the Oklahoma City Bombing
Memorial?
The Oklahoma City Bombing was designed by
Oklahoma City architects Hans and Torrey
Butzer and Sven Berg. The "Field of Empty
Chairs" marks the footprint of the bombed
building. The address of the Oklahoma City
Bombing Memorial is 620 N. Harvey, Oklahoma
City, OK.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts for kids
The following fact
sheet contains interesting facts and information on Oklahoma City Bombing.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts for kids
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts - 1: Definition: The Oklahoma City Bombing
at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on April 19,
1995, perpetrated by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols
killed 168 people, 19 of whom were children under the
age of six and resulted in injuries to nearly 700 other
innocent people.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts -
2: The
1993 World Trade Center Bombing
brought the realization to Americans that their homeland
was vulnerable to terrorist attacks from the Middle
East. The Oklahoma City Bombing brought the realization
that such terrible acts of mass destruction and US
Domestic Terrorism could also be committed by Americans.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts - 3: Timothy McVeigh (April 23,
1968 – June 11, 2001) was convicted and executed by lethal injection
for the Oklahoma City Bombing. Terry Nichols (born April 1, 1955)
was convicted of being an accomplice in the bombing and sentenced to
life imprisonment.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts - 4: Timothy McVeigh and Terry
Nichols met in 1988 when they were both in the same platoon in the
US Army. The pair remained friends when they returned to civilian
life and both shared the same anti-gun control and radical, anti
government views.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts - 5: Both men were associated with
extreme right-wing movements, white supremacists and the militant
Patriot Movement that rejects the legitimacy of the federal
government and law enforcement. Timothy McVeigh became obsessed with
'The Turner Diaries', a 1978 novel by William Luther Pierce, that
urged violent action against the United States government
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts - 6: On April 19, 1993 McVeigh and
Nichols became enraged as they watched the TV coverage of the
Waco Siege. McVeigh drove from Michigan
to Waco, Texas to show his support of those killed in the compound,
swearing revenge on the federal government for their handling of the
Waco siege and at a similar incident a year earlier in Ruby Ridge,
Idaho.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts - 7: On October 12, 1993 Timothy
McVeigh and Terry Nichols drive to Elohim City ("The City of God"),
a 400 acre compound on Oklahoma-Arkansas border for white
supremacist and and anti-government members of the militant right.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts - 8: On September 12, 1994 Timothy
McVeigh participates in military maneuvers and paramilitary
exercises at Elohim City.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts - 9: The next day, September 13,
1994, saw the 'Federal Assault Weapons Ban' passed by Congress. The
new law included a prohibition on the manufacture for civilian use
of certain semi-automatic firearms. It was the "final straw" for
McVeigh and he decides to take direct action against the government.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts - 10: McVeigh and
Nichols began developing plans to blow up the Murrah
Federal Building in Oklahoma City with the intention of
bombing a government building and the government
employees within that building who represented the
government. Their purpose was to deter the federal
government from using force against groups like those in
Waco and Ruby Ridge.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts - 11: The Murrah Federal
Building in Oklahoma City was selected as the target for
the bombing because it housed multiple federal agencies,
including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF)
(which was involved in the Waco siege), United States
Secret Service (USSS), Social Security Administration (SSA)
and recruiting offices for both the Army and the Marine
Corps.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts -
12: The Murrah Federal
complex was a nine-story office building with two
one-story ancillary wings and a multi-level parking
garage
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts -
13: The Murrah Federal
Building held approximately 550 employees and provided a
day care center on the second floor for the young
children of the workers.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts - 14: The men began to
implement their plan to bomb the Murrah Federal Building
in September 1994. To help finance the plan, Terry
Nichols carried out a robbery, planned by Tim McVeigh,
of a rich Arkansas gundealer.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts - 15: Timothy McVeigh
purchased ammonium nitrate agricultural fertilizer, a
key ingredient for the bomb, in Herington, Kansas, where
he also rented a storage unit.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts -
16: The bomb contained
ammonium nitrate, diesel fuel, nitro-methane, Tovex, a water-gel explosive composed
of ammonium nitrate and methylammonium nitrate. Primadet
blasting caps, used to detonate the bomb, were
stolen from a local quarry in Marion, Kansas.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts - 17: Timothy McVeigh reportedly
acquired his bomb making skills by picking up ideas from right-wing
literature and by conducting experiments on an abandoned farm.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts - 18: Terry Nichols continued to
assist in the bombing plans right up to the day before the explosion
but he refused to be involved on the day of the bombing.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts - 19: On April 15, 1995 Timothy
McVeigh, using the name "Robert Kling," rented a Ryder truck to use
for the bombing.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts - 20: On April 16, 1995 McVeigh and
Nichols drove to Oklahoma City to park the getaway car
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts - 21: On April 18, 1995 Terry
Nichols loaded explosives from the Kansas storage unit into the
Ryder truck, and then met Timothy McVeigh near Geary Lake, Kansas,
to assist in mixing the bomb ingredients.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts - 22: The Oklahoma City Bombing was
planned to take place the next day on April 19, 1995. On the day of
the bombing Terry Nichols stayed at home with his family in
Herington, Kansas. Timothy McVeigh went to Oklahoma City to become a
mass murderer.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts - 23: The date selected for the
Oklahoma City Bombing, April 19, was highly significant as it marked
two anniversaries with multiple historical meanings. April 19, 1993
was the date that federal agents raided the compound that ended the
Waco Siege. Patriots Day is the anniversary of the Battles of
Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775 that marked the beginning of
the armed uprising by colonialists against British control
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts - 24: A bumper sticker was later
found in Timothy McVeigh's getaway car carrying the Samuel Adams
quote,
"When the Government Fears
the People, there is Liberty.
When the People Fear the Government, there is Tyranny"
Timothy McVeigh added his own
words to the quote "Maybe now, there will be liberty!"
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts - 25: On the day of the
Oklahoma City Bombing on April 19, 1995 Timothy McVeigh
wore a T-shirt bearing the Latin phrase "Sic semper
tyrannis" a shortened version of "Sic semper evello
mortem tyrannis" which means "Thus always I bring
death to tyrants".
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts - 26: April 19, 1995 was
also the date that white supremacist Richard Snell was
executed. Richard Snell was connected with several of
the men in Elohim City involved in a plot to attack
federal buildings. Richard Snell had repeatedly told
prison officials that there would be a big bombing and
explosion on the day of his execution.
Continued...
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts for kids
Facts
about the Oklahoma City Bombing for kids
The following fact
sheet continues with facts about the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing
for kids.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts for kids
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts - 27: On the morning of
April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh parked the rented Ryder
truck in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building
in downtown Oklahoma City. Inside the truck was the
powerful bomb made out of a deadly cocktail of
chemicals.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts - 28: Timothy McVeigh
ignited one timed fuse, then another, got out of the
truck, locked the door, and headed towards his getaway
car.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts - 29: At precisely 9:02
a.m., the bomb exploded. Most of the Murrah Federal
Building was reduced to rubble, dozens of cars were
incinerated and numerous nearby buildings were damaged
or destroyed. It was the worst act of homegrown
terrorism in the nation’s history.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts - 30: 168 men, women and
children were killed in the Oklahoma City Bombing. 19 of
those killed were the babies, toddlers and children in
the daycare center. Nearly 700 other innocent
people were injured in the explosion.
Oklahoma
City Bombing Facts - 31: Some victims in
the Murrah Federal Building fell five or six floors to
their deaths as the structure partially pancaked. A
massive crater opened on the street in front of the
Murrah Federal Building, surrounded by a tremendous
amount of debris and a crowd of crying, shocked,
injured, and dying people. Bodies and body parts were
everywhere
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts -
32: Police, ambulance
and firefighters rushed to the heartbreaking scene of
the bombing. Other people tried to give comfort and
first aid to the many hundreds of victims.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts -
33: The bomb damaged
347 buildings in the immediate area of the explosion.
Thirty buildings were heavily damaged and since then
approximately sixteen buildings have been torn down.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts -
34: Timothy McVeigh
left the city in his getaway car, but he did not get
far. A little over an hour later, Charles Hanger, an
Oklahoma Highway Patrol officer, pulled Timothy McVeigh
over near Perry, Oklahoma because his car was missing
its license plate. He had no idea who McVeigh was or
what he had done, but he arrested McVeigh when he
discovered McVeigh had a concealed handgun.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts -
35: On April 20, the
rear axle of the rented Ryder truck was located. The
vehicle identification number that was traced to a body
shop in Junction City, Kansas. Employees at the shop
helped the FBI put together a drawing of the man who had
rented the van. FBI Agents circulated the drawing around
town and Tim McVeigh was identified
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts -
36: On April 21, 1995
Timothy McVeigh was arrested by federal authorities.
Evidence against McVeigh mounted as FBI Agents found
traces of the chemicals used in the explosion on
McVeigh’s clothes.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts -
37: During the
investigation it was discovered that a friend of
McVeigh’s named Terry Nichols had helped build the bomb
and that another man, Michael Fortier, had been aware of
the bomb plot.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts -
38: Terry Nichols
voluntarily turned himself in in Herington, Kansas. On
May 10, 1995 he charged in connection with the bombing
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts -
39: Michael Fortier
and his wife Lori were implicated in the plot. They
testified against both McVeigh and Nichols in exchange
for a 12-year prison term for Michael Fortier and
immunity for Lori Fortier .
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts -
40: Timothy McVeigh
and Terry Nichols
shared a cell block that is commonly referred to as
"Bombers Row" with Ramzi Yousef, the 1993 World Trade
Center bomber and
Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts -
41: Timothy McVeigh
was convicted on 11 counts of murder, conspiracy and
using a weapon of mass destruction and was sentenced to
death by lethal injection. He was executed on June 11,
2001 as survivors and relatives of victims watch on
closed-circuit television.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts -
42: December 23, 1997
Terry Nichols was convicted on federal charges of
conspiracy and eight counts of involuntary manslaughter.
He was sentenced to 161 consecutive life terms,
without the possibility of parole. He is serving
his sentence at the Supermax federal prison in Florence,
Colorado.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts -
43: Michael Fortier
was convicted for failing to notify authorities of
McVeigh and Nichols' plans to bomb the Murrah Federal
Building. He was released from jail on January 20, 2006.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts -
44: On April 19, 2000,
five years to the day after the Oklahoma City bombing,
the Oklahoma National Memorial and Museum was officially
dedicated. The memorial honors the victims,
survivors, rescuers and all whose lives were changed
forever on April 19, 1995.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts -
45:
The "Field of Empty Chairs" in the memorial
consists of 168 empty chairs made from glass, bronze,
and stone representing those who lost their lives, with
their names etched in the glass base of each chair.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts -
46: The Survivor Tree,
a one hundred year old American Elm, is the only tree in
the surrounding area that survived the Oklahoma City
bombing.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts -
47: The Survivor Tree
stands in the memorial as a beacon of hope, survival and
resiliency. The inscription around the Survivor Tree
reads:
"The spirit of
this city and this nation will not be defeated; our
deeply rooted faith sustains us".
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts -
48: Following the
Oklahoma City Bombing the Anti-Terrorism and Effective
Death Penalty Act was signed into law on April 24, 1996,
increasing protections afforded to federal workers and
the facilities they work in.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts -
49: During the years
following the Oklahoma City Bombing increased scrutiny
of right-wing extremist groups and individuals resulted
in a large number of arrests of white supremacists and
anti-government extremists primarily on charges related
to weapons, explosives, and conspiracy.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts -
50: The Oklahoma City
Bombing was the deadliest terrorist attack on American
soil with the most deaths, injuries and property damage
until the events of Sept. 11, 2001.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Facts for kids
Oklahoma City Bombing - President Bill Clinton Video
The article on the Oklahoma City Bombing provides detailed facts and a summary of one of the important events during his presidential term in office.
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