The Oklahoma City bombing - 16 years on
Tuesday 19 April 2011
Latest in History
Related articles
On Facebook
Life & Style blogs
Living a long, healthy life – looking after your heart
In my clinic I see all sorts of people walking through my door. Mostly, they come to me because they...
Tips on renting your property to students
Five important things to think about before the Freshers arrive...
VIEW GALLERY
Today marks the 16th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, which claimed 168 lives and injured more than 680 people, making it the most deadly act of terrorism in America until 9/11.
On 19 April 1995, 27-year-old Timothy McVeigh detonated a fuel and fertilizer truck bomb outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.
Motivated by his anger at the FBI's handling of the Ruby Ridge incident 1992 and Waco Seige 1993, in which religious extremists were shot dead, McVeigh decided to bomb a federal building in response.
Within 90 minutes of the explosion McVeigh was stopped by police for driving without a licence plate and arrested for unlawfully carrying a weapon. Forensic evidence quickly linked McVeigh and his accomplice, Terry Nichols, to the bombing.
The men, who met in 1988 at Fort Benning during basic training for the U.S Army and bonded over their interest in the militia movement, were charged within days.
The 4,800-pound fertilizer truck bomb, which killed 19 children under the age of six as well as eight federal agents, is estimated to have caused $652 million worth of damage. The official investigation, known as "OKBOMB", was the largest criminal investigation case in American history.
McVeigh was convicted two years later of first-degree murder charges, and found guilty of 11 counts of dealing with the bombing. He was executed by lethal injection on 11 June 2001. Nichols was sentenced to life in prison.
- 1 The 10 Best Scotch Whiskies
- 2 Shadow of the eurozone crisis may accelerate a dive in property prices
- 3 Private viewing: Our tour of the pick of the property market
- 4 The ten best men's fragrances
- 5 Hardcore, hard-wired: How the prevalence of porn is changing our everyday lives
- 6 The 10 best: city cars
- 7 The 10 best hot hatchbacks
- 8 The Ten Best Scooters
- 9 African monkey meat that could be behind the next HIV
- 10 Coke reveals its secret: It may need to carry a cancer warning
- 1 Brazil rocked by abortion for 9-year-old rape victim
- 2 Society: The only way is Finland
- 3 Osborne to face questions over links to Murdoch
- 4 Fat? Really? Olympic hope laughs off official’s jibe – but others aren’t amused
- 5 Is Ridley Scott the most macho man in movies?
- 6 'Hello mum, this is going to be hard for you to read ...'
- 7 Exclusive dispatch: Assad blamed for massacre of the innocents
- 8 Coke reveals its secret: It may need to carry a cancer warning
- 9 French in uproar over oral sex anti-smoking posters
Experience the Heineken Hub
Get free wi-fi and exclusive i content while you enjoy a tasty pint of Heineken at participating pubs.
Can you imagine a career in teaching?
Be inspired to teach - let real teachers show you how rewarding the job can be.
Playing a game-changing role during the Games
Cisco is providing the solutions for London 2012's complex IT needs.
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Career Services
The secret life of the red carpet
Up and away – how '7 Up' went global




Comments