Oklahoma City Bombing (1995)

The Oklahoma City bombing was the deadliest terrorist attack carried out in the United States until the attacks of September 11, 2001. The bombing and the individuals involved, as well as the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from the event, were vigorously pursued and researched. The Oklahoma City bombing occurred on April 19, 1995, at 9:02 A.M. The target of the bombing was the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City. This attack of domestic terrorism resulted in 168 deaths (19 of them children) and over 800 injuries. The bomb was housed in a rented Ryder truck, which was filled with 5,000 pounds of explosives, including ammonium nitrate, nitromethane, and agricultural fertilizer. The force of the explosion was so intense that it destroyed half of the nine-floor Murrah Federal Building and was felt as far as 30 miles away.

The bombing, which was in the planning stage in 1994, was planned and carried out by two men. The motive was in response to the U.S. government's handling of the encounter with the Branch Davidans in Waco, Texas, two years earlier on the same date, and the standoff with white separatist Randy Weaver at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, in 1992. Specifically targeted were the government agencies of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATF); the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols were charged and convicted of the bombing. McVeigh was a 27-year-old decorated U.S. Army veteran of the Persian Gulf War who became transient after leaving the army. Nichols was also a veteran of the U.S. Army, where he met McVeigh. In 2001, McVeigh was executed by lethal injection.

Nichols was sentenced to life in prison and is currently housed at U.S. Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility (ADX) in Florence, Colorado. Michael Fortier and Lori Fortier were accomplices in the Oklahoma City bombing; however, in exchange for testifying against McVeigh and Nichols, Michael Fortier was given a reduced sentence, and Lori Fortier was granted immunity from prosecution.

Emergency and Government Response

The Oklahoma City fire department was the lead agency, and immediately invoked the Incident Command System. Within minutes of the explosion, over 1,800 911 calls related to the bombing were received by Emergency Medical Services Authority. By that time, EMSA ambulances, police, and firefighters were already dispatched to the federal building. Nonemergency workers who witnessed or heard the explosion assisted [Page 450]first responders in rescue efforts. In the subsequent days, over 12,000 people participated in relief and rescue operations. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) activated 11 of its Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces, which consisted of a team of 665 rescue workers. Rescue and recovery efforts were brought to a close on May 5.

Rescue crews struggle to save trapped people in the rubble of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City, April 26, 1995

In the weeks following the bombing, the federal government ordered federal buildings in major cities to be surrounded with Jersey barriers (also known as Pennsylvania separators, traffic dividers, or K-rails) to prevent similar attacks. These devices keep cars with bombs at a manageable distance from a target. New federal buildings must now be constructed with truck-resistant barriers. Several laws were also passed as a result of the attack. These include the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 and the Victim Allocution Clarification Act of 1997.

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