April 19
Oklahoma City Bombing Kills 168 in Worst U.S. Terror Attack
Timothy McVeigh parked a rented Ryder truck loaded with a massive fertilizer bomb outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, where it exploded at 9:02 a.m. and killed 168 people in the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in the United States at the time.
Summary
On the morning of April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh detonated a truck bomb containing over two tons of explosives outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The blast destroyed or damaged more than 300 buildings, killed 168 people including 19 children in the daycare, and injured hundreds more. The attack, motivated by anti-government grievances tied to earlier events at Waco and Ruby Ridge, represented the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history at the time. Federal investigations quickly identified McVeigh and accomplice Terry Nichols, leading to convictions and executions or life sentences.
Context
In the early 1990s, a series of confrontations between federal law enforcement and individuals or groups suspicious of government authority heightened tensions across parts of the American West and Midwest. The 1992 Ruby Ridge standoff in Idaho ended with the deaths of Randy Weaver's wife and son after an FBI siege, while the 1993 Waco siege in Texas concluded with a fire that killed more than 70 Branch Davidians, including leader David Koresh. These episodes, along with the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban, were interpreted by some as evidence of federal overreach targeting gun owners and constitutional rights.
What Happened
Gulf War veteran Timothy McVeigh, radicalized by these events and anti-government literature, recruited former Army acquaintance Terry Nichols and acquaintance Michael Fortier into a conspiracy. McVeigh selected the nine-story Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City because it housed offices of the ATF, DEA, and other agencies he blamed for the earlier sieges. On the morning of April 19, 1995—the second anniversary of the Waco fire's conclusion—he drove a Ryder truck containing roughly 4,800 pounds of an ammonium nitrate–nitromethane–diesel mixture to the curb on NW 5th Street and walked away.
Aftermath
The 9:02 a.m. detonation sheared off the building's north face, killed 167 people instantly (plus one rescue worker later), and injured 684 others while damaging or destroying more than 300 additional structures. Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Charlie Hanger stopped McVeigh ninety minutes later for a missing license plate and arrested him on weapons charges; forensic links and Nichols's surrender followed within days. Federal trials in 1997 convicted McVeigh on eleven counts and Nichols on multiple federal and state counts.
Legacy
Congress responded with the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, which restricted habeas corpus appeals and funded increased security at federal facilities nationwide. The bombing remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history until the September 11 attacks; the site is now the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum, where annual commemorations continue and the event is studied as a pivotal case in the evolution of domestic extremism awareness and counterterrorism policy.
Why It Matters
The bombing prompted sweeping changes in federal building security, counterterrorism legislation including the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, and expanded FBI capabilities. It heightened national awareness of domestic extremism and influenced policies that shaped responses to later threats, while leaving a lasting memorial and annual commemorations.
Related Questions
What events prompted the bombers' grievances?
McVeigh and Nichols cited the 1992 Ruby Ridge standoff and the 1993 Waco siege as evidence of federal tyranny, along with the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban.
How large was the bomb and how was it made?
The device weighed more than 4,800 pounds and consisted of ammonium nitrate fertilizer mixed with nitromethane and diesel fuel, packed into a rented Ryder truck.
Who was arrested first and how?
Timothy McVeigh was stopped by Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Charlie Hanger about ninety minutes after the blast for driving without a license plate and carrying an illegal firearm.
What legislation followed the attack?
Congress passed the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, which expanded federal counterterrorism powers and limited certain appeals while also improving security at federal buildings.
Where did the attack rank in U.S. terrorism history at the time?
It was the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in American history until the September 11, 2001 attacks.
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Sources
- Oklahoma City bombing, HISTORY.com. Accessed 2026-07-09.
- Oklahoma City Bombing, Wikipedia. Accessed 2026-07-09.