The Oklahoma City bombing was a horrifying act of domestic terrorism that occurred on April 19, 1995. Orchestrated by [[Timothy McVeigh]], a disenchanted Army veteran with extremist [[anti-government]] views, it resulted in the loss of 168 lives, including 19 children, and left over 500 people injured. The attack stands as one of the deadliest acts of terrorism on U.S. soil.
The target of the bombing was the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, a nine-story structure housing several federal government agencies and a daycare center. At 9:02 a.m., a yellow Ryder truck packed with a lethal mix of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, diesel fuel, and other chemicals, parked by McVeigh outside the building, detonated. The blast was so powerful it destroyed or damaged more than 300 nearby buildings, shattered glass in 258 nearby buildings, and caused an estimated $652 million worth of damage.
## A deadly act of terrorism
The human toll was even more staggering. The blast instantly killed many people inside the Murrah Building and caused so much damage that the rescue and recovery efforts lasted for over two weeks. Hundreds of individuals, from office workers to children at the daycare center, were affected. Emergency responders described the scene as a war zone, with victims buried under rubble and bystanders in shock wandering the debris-strewn streets.
The tragedy of the Oklahoma City bombing was not just the immense loss of life and physical destruction, but also the fact that the attack was perpetrated by a fellow American with a deep-seated hatred for his own government. It was a stark reminder of the potential for homegrown [extremism](https://doctorparadox.net/psychology/extremism/) and the devastating impact of such beliefs when coupled with a willingness to commit violent acts.
McVeigh was arrested, tried, and convicted of the bombing. He was executed in 2001. His co-conspirator, Terry Nichols, is serving multiple life sentences without the possibility of parole. The bombing remains a symbol of the destructiveness of domestic terrorism and the immense pain and suffering such acts of violence inflict on innocent people.