Transcript Oklahoma City Bombing - Seigen

Oklahoma City Bombing
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W.W.W.W
Who? Timothy McVeigh and others
What? Truck Bombing
Where? Oklahoma City
When? April 15 1995
Why?
Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols met in the army
and shared many interests such as survivalism,
opposed gun control and disliked the FBI
McVeigh was especially unhappy about how the FBI
handled the Waco standoff that created more
casualties than needed.
Decided the best way to get his message across to
the government was to bomb a federal building.
Alfred P. Murrah
Housed fourteen government agencies including the
FBI, the Alcohol, Tobacco and Fire Arms Agency
(ATF) and Drug Enforcement Administration
Also had a daycare and credit union on the first and
second floor.
Making the bomb
McVeigh and Nichols purchased and stole the
materials they would need for the bomb.
It only cost around $5000 USD to make and the truck
rental only cost $250 USD
The bomb was composed of fertilizer pellets and
motorcycle fuel.
7000lbs of explosives
The bomb contained more than 5000lbs of fertilizer
pellets, 1200 lbs of fuel and 350 lbs of Torvex.
Placed in sixteen 55 US gallon drums and stored in
the back of the Ryder rental truck.
The Attack
April 14th McVeigh rents a Ryder truck under a false
name.
Next day he drove to Oklahoma City and parked a
getaway car a few blocks away from the Murrah
building with a note that said “Do not two”.
Morning of the bombing, the original plan was to
bomb at 11am but McVeigh changed it to 9am
Bombing cont.
Carried with him many anarchist documents.
A few minutes away from the building he lit the 5
minute fuse and then the 2 minute fuse.
He parked the truck outside the building at 9:02 and
hurried away to his getaway car.
Bombing Cont.
The truck exploded, hundreds of people were killed or
injured.
1/3 of the building collapsed within 7 seconds of the
blast.
The crater created by the blast was 9m wide and 2 m
deep.
Explosion damaged 324 buildings within a 16 block
radius and shattered glass in 258 buildings
Destruction
Destroyed 86 cars around the site and left several
hundred people homeless.
In total it caused 652 million USD worth of damage.
Recorded a 3.1 on the Richter scale and was
equivalent to 5000lbs of TNT.
Victims
Almost 700 people were inside the building at the
time of the explosion.
by the end of the first day 20 were confirmed dead
including 6 children. The final death toll was 168
people including 19 children.
The age range was 3 months - 73 years in age.
Three pregnant women also died in the blast.
warning: sensitive image!
Rescue and Recovery
Emergency and Rescue centres were set up
within the first hour 50 people were rescued from the
building and sent to every hospital in the area.
Temporary silences were observed so monitors that
could hear human heartbeats would help find
survivors buried under the rubble.
Some limbs had to be amputated without anesthesia
to rescue people from the rubble.
Rescue and Recovery
The site was evacuated once when a second bombs
was said to be found but it tuned out to be a military
dummy.
The last survivor from day 1 was a 15 year old girl
12,000 people participated in the relief and rescue.
One nurse was killed from falling debris and many
other workers were injured.
24 K-9 units were brought in to find bodies.
Rescue and Recovery
By May 5th all bodies were recovered except for 3.
Humanitarian responses included the donation of
many rescue resources, warm food and clothes and
9000 units of blood.
So many resources were donated that it actually
caused inventory control problems.
All non-essential workers were sent home for the rest
of the day during the explosion and Bill Clinton
declared a federal emergency in Oklahoma City and
addressed the nation.
All flags on federal buildings were to be flown at half
mast for 30 days to remember the victims.
International reactions varied: some countries were
sympathetic, others believed the USA brought it upon
themselves.
Children
Many children died in this attack due to the daycare
centre. McVeigh stated had he known about the
daycare he would have chosen a different building.
Schools across the country were let out early and
closed.
Cases of PTSD popped up around the country from
constant media reports about dying children
Child care specialists were made available so they
could teach parents, teachers, and authority figures
about how to talk about the attack.
Arrest
McVeigh was arrested 90 minutes after the explosion
for not having a license plate on his getaway car.
He was brought into the station for questioning.
A part of the truck survived that allow police to
identify who rented it. Comparing this name with the
hotel name that was given and the earlier police
reports they knew they had their man.
McVeigh had multiple incriminating documents on
him tying him to the explosion.
Investigation and trial
FBI led the investigation. Largest criminal
investigation in the USA
McVeigh had 6 attorneys and the USA had 11.
McVeigh took responsibility for the attack but claimed
he was only preventing future disasters from
occuring.
137 witnesses were called.
Results
Jury took 23 hours to decide that McVeigh was guilty
of 11 counts of murder and conspiracy.
The defence only wanted life in prison but McVeigh
was sentenced to death.
He was executed by lethal injection on June 11th
2001
Aftermath
Deadliest act of Terrorism in the USA before 9/11
400,000 people from the Oklahoma City Metropolitan
area knew someone who was affected by the attack.
FBI hired 500 agents to investigate terrorism.
US Government enacted the Anti-Terrorism and
Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996
Allowed future victims of terrorist attacks to witness
the trial and provide impact testimonies.
Construction
All future federal buildings now had to meet the
california earthquake codes to prevent future
collapse.
Concrete bumper barriers needed to be set up
outside each federal building to prevent trucks from
parking near them.
Memorial