The Oklahoma City Bombing

Abstract

The Oklahoma City Bombing was the largest detonation by a domestic terrorist in US history. The blast occurred at 9:02 on April 19, 1995. The explosive consisted of at least 4000 pounds of ammonium nitrate fertilizer along with a petroleum accelerant housed in a rental truck. The truck was parked in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building in downtown Oklahoma City. At street level, there were 2 day care centers as well as a federal credit union. There were 167 people killed directly by the blast, mostly by building collapse, and one volunteer rescue worker killed by falling debris. There were 324 buildings damage to some degree with costs of the damage estimated at over half a billion dollars. On April 19, 2000, The Oklahoma City National Memorial was dedicated at the site of the bombing.