1995-+Oklahoma+City+Bombing+g4

== Oklahoma City Bombing- 1995==

Overview
The Oklahoma City bombing occurred on April 19, 1995 when American militia movement sympathizer Timothy McVeigh, with the assistance of Terry Nichols, destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It was the most significant act of terrorism on American soil until the September 11 attacks in 2001, claiming the lives of 168 victims and injuring more than 680. The blast destroyed or damaged 324 buildings within a sixteen–block radius, destroyed or burned 86 cars, and shattered glass in 258 nearby buildings. The bomb was estimated to have caused at least $652 million worth of damage. Motivated by the federal government's handling of the Waco Siego and the Ruby Ridge incident, McVeigh's attack was timed to coincide with the second anniversary of the Waco Siege. Within 90 minutes of the explosion McVeigh was stopped by Oklahoma State Trooper Charlie Hanger for driving without a license plate, and arrested for unlawfully carrying a weapon. Forensic evidence quickly linked McVeigh and Nichols to the attack, and within days they were arrested and charged.

Central Issue
McVeigh's original plan had been to detonate the bomb at 11:00 a.m. CST, but at dawn on April 19, he decided instead to destroy the building at 9:00 a.m. CST. McVeigh entered Oklahoma City at 8:50 a.m. CST. At 8:57 a.m. CST the same Regency Towers Apartments' lobby security camera w hich had recorded Nichols' pickup truck three days earlier recorded the Ryder truck heading towards the Murrah Federal Building. Also at 8:57 a.m. CST, McVeigh lit the five-minute fuse. Three minutes later, still a block away, he lit the two-minute fuse. He parked the Ryder truck in a drop-off zone situated under the building's day-care ce nter, exited and locked the truck, and as he headed to his getaway vehicle, dropped the keys to the truck a few blocks away. At 9:02 a.m. CST, the Ryder truck, containing in excess of 4,800 pounds of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, nitromethane, and diesel fuel mixture, detonated in front of the north side of the nine-story Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. One third of the building was destroyed by the explosion, which created a 30-foot wide, 8-foot deep crater on NW 5th Street next to the building. The effects of the blast were equivalent to over 5,000 pounds of TNT, and could be heard and felt up to 55 miles away.

Conclusion
Within 23 minutes of the bombing, the State Emergency Operations Center was set up, consisting of representatives from the state departments of public safety, human services, military, health, and education. Assisting the SEOC were agencies such as the National Weather Service, the Air Force, the Civil Air Patrol, and the American Red Cross. Immediate assistance also came from 465 members of the Oklahoma National Guard, who arrived within the hour to provide security, and from members of the Department of Civil Emergency Management. Within the first hour, 50 people were rescued from the Murrah Federal Building. Rescue and recovery efforts were concluded at 12:05 a.m. CST on May 5, by which time the bodies of all but three of the victims had been recovered. For safety reasons, the building was to be demolished shortly afterward. The Oklahoma City National Memorial was approved on July 1st 1997. The memorial was designed at a cost of $29 million, which was raised by public and private funds.