Oklahoma City bombing: the attack, the aftermath, and a city's resilience
The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995.
It was the deadliest act of terrorism in U.S. history until the September 11 attacks in 2001 surpassed it. It remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history, and is the second-deadliest act of terrorism to occur in the U.S. overall.
Two anti-government extremists and white supremacists, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, planned and executed the bombing.
Local, state, federal, and worldwide agencies engaged in extensive rescue efforts in the wake of the bombing. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) activated 11 of its Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces, consisting of 665 rescue workers who assisted in rescue and recovery operations.
When was the Oklahoma City bombing?
The bombing occurred at 9:02 a.m. April 19, 1995, and left at least 168 people dead, injured more than 680 others, and destroyed more than one-third of the building, the rest of which had to be demolished. The blast destroyed or damaged 324 other buildings within a 16-block radius, shattered glass in 258 nearby buildings, and destroyed 86 cars, causing an estimated $652 million worth of damage.
More: Oklahoma City bombing survivors share their stories of the aftermath
What happened to Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols?
McVeigh, a veteran of the Gulf War and a sympathizer with the U.S. militia movement, had detonated a Ryder rental truck full of explosives that he parked in front of the building. Nichols had assisted with the bomb's preparation.
Within 90 minutes of the explosion, McVeigh was stopped by Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Charlie Hanger for driving without a license plate and arrested for illegal weapons possession. Forensic evidence quickly linked McVeigh and Nichols to the attack; Nichols was arrested, and within days, both were charged.
The bombers were tried and convicted in 1997. Sentenced to death, McVeigh was executed by lethal injection on June 11, 2001, at the U.S. federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana. Nichols was sentenced in his federal case in 1998 and a state case in 2004 to life in prison.
Was the OKC bombing connected to the Waco Branch Davidians?
The events in Oklahoma City are connected to a long thread of events related to distrust of the federal government among far-right extremists in the 1990s.
Timothy McVeigh was unhappy about the U.S. federal government's handling of the Ruby Ridge incident in 1992, and he later drove to the siege at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas in 1993. There, he distributed pro-gun and anti-government literature.
McVeigh timed his attack in Oklahoma City to coincide with the second anniversary of the fire that ended the siege.
And the Waco "massacre" as it is often called, has endured as a deep source of hatred and distrust of the federal government among far-right extremists. A few years later, an Austin talk show host in his 20s led a group of volunteers to rebuild the chapel on the Waco site. His name was Alex Jones.
What laws were passed to prevent another bombing of this scale?
In response to the bombing, the U.S. Congress passed the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, which limited access to habeas corpus in the United States, among other provisions. It also passed legislation to increase the protection around federal buildings to deter future terrorist attacks.
More: The names and faces of victims of the Oklahoma City bombing
Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum
The creation of the Oklahoma City National Memorial was a cooperative effort involving many people and all levels of government. In 1995, Oklahoma City Mayor Ron Norick appointed a 350-member task force to explore ways to remember this tragic event and honor those killed.
In March 1999, the task force called for the creation of a memorial to remember "those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever."
The campus includes the Outdoor Symbolic Memorial, which is located where the Murrah Building once stood. Outdoor elements include
Gates of Time: the twin gates frame the moment before the attack, 9:01 a.m., and the moment after, 9:03 a.m.
Reflecting Pool: The pool occupies what was once N.W. Fifth Street.
Field of Empty Chairs: The 168 chairs represent those killed on April 19, 1995. They stand in nine rows, each representing a floor of the Federal Building where the field is now located. Each chair bears the name of someone killed on that floor. Nineteen smaller chairs stand for the children.
Survivor Wall: On the east end of the Memorial stands the only remaining walls from the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. More than 600 names of those who survived are inscribed on salvaged pieces of granite from the Federal Building lobby.
Survivor Tree: The American elm tree in a parking lot survived the bomb’s blast and continues to grow today.
The memorial museum is an interactive learning experience that occupies the west end of the former Journal Record Building. It takes visitors on a self-guided tour through the story of the bombing, as well as the world's response in the aftermath. The museum uses interactive displays, as well as hundreds of hours of video and artifacts, and admission maintains the outdoor memorial.
On April 19, 2000, the fifth anniversary of the attack, the Oklahoma City National Memorial was dedicated on the site of the former Murrah Building, commemorating the victims of the bombing.
President William J. Clinton joined more than 20,000 people to dedicate the site. Less than a year later, President and Mrs. George W. Bush dedicated the Memorial Museum on Presidents’ Day, February 19, 2001.
Remembrance services are held every year on April 19, at the time of the explosion.
Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon became a "run to remember"
In 2000, local businessmen Thomas Hill and Chet Collier hatched an idea while they were on a training run preparing for their first marathon: Oklahoma City needed its own marathon.
The Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon was born.
The inaugural race in 2001 had a little less than 5,000 entrants, small by today’s norm of 20,000 to 25,000. But the marathon grew rapidly in those early years, doubling in size in five years and being named one of the “12 Must-Run Marathons” by Runner’s World.
More: Running is 'stronger than it's ever been' in the OKC metro thanks to OKC Memorial Marathon
Much of the growth was tied to the marathon’s mission: remembering those who died, those who survived and those whose lives were changed forever by the bombing of the Murrah Building. Runners wore running-in-honor-of bibs with the names of bombing victims. They paused for 168 seconds of silence before the race, a second for every person who died. They saw the names and photos of those victims all along the course.
The Memorial Marathon was more than a race. It was a run to remember.
And it became a way for Oklahomans to honor the lives that were lost and celebrate the hope that remains.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: How many people died in the Oklahoma City bombing? What to know
