Where were you then: The April 19, 1995 Oklahoma City bombing
Oklahoma City bombing rattles America
Years before the September 11th attacks shocked the nation, the horrors of terrorism played out live on Americans’ televisions after a bomb blast decimated the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. In this LiveNOW & Then full episode, we look back at what that coverage looked like and how it felt for those on the ground.
This year marks 30 years since the Oklahoma City Bombing.
The backstory:
On April 19, 1995, a bomb exploded from inside a parked car that destroyed a third of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City.
Hundreds of people were injured, and 168 people were killed – including 19 children.
File: The north side of the Albert P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City shows the devastation caused by a fuel-and fertilizer truck bomb that was detonated early April 19 in front of the building. (BOB DAEMMRICH/AFP via Getty Images)
Suspect conviction
Timeline:
A little more than two years later, Timothy McVeigh was found guilty on all counts and convicted of the bombing on June 2, 1997.
Later that year, accomplice Terry Nichols was convicted in December of 1997 in federal trial of conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction but acquitted of two counts directly blaming him for the attack.
On June 11, 2001, McVeigh was executed.
Nichols is currently serving several life sentences.
File: Family members of those lost in the Oklahoma City bombing grieve as they watch the remains of the Alfred P. Murrah building be demolished. (Photo by David Butow/Corbis via Getty Images)
Dig deeper:
McVeigh and Nichols met in the U.S. Army and were veterans of the Gulf War. Their attack was motivated by radical political ideology and was reportedly revenge on the federal government for the 1993 Waco siege and the 1992 Ruby Ridge standoff.
From the archives: Oklahoma City bombing coverage
Domestic terrorists attacked the federal building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. Here's a look at the situation the next day as rescuers tried to find survivors in the debris. Originally aired on FOX 4 KDFW, April 20, 1995.
Big picture view:
To this day, the bombing is still the deadliest act of homegrown terrorism in the United States.
The Source: Information in this article was taken from a series of historical accounts, including the FBI, the Oklahoma Historical Society and several local Oklahoma news reports. This story was reported from Detroit.