The Oklahoma City Bombing Explained

Mr. Beat breaks down the Oklahoma City bombing as the 25th anniversary of it approaches. A shout out to Robert from @readingthroughhistor for providing some help for this video.

Produced by Matt Beat. All images/video by Matt Beat, found in the public domain, or used under fair use guidelines. Music by Electric Needle Room (Mr. Beat's band).

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Special thanks to the AP Archive for footage for this video. It made a huge difference! AP Archive website

Sources/further reading and watching:

One of Ours by Serrano A Richard purchase on Amazon

Oklahoma City (2017) - A PBS American Experience Documentary, currently on Netflix:

The morning of April 19, 1995, at first seemed just like an ordinary Wednesday morning at the nine-story Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City. Most of the 646 folks in the building worked for the Social Security Administration, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Veterans Affairs, Drug Enforcement Administration, Secret Service, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and had all been at work for about an hour or so. The building also housed America’s Kids, a day care center.

And then, at exactly 9:02 am, a bomb explodes. The explosion was equal to more than 5,000 pounds (2,200 kg) of TNT and could be heard and felt up to 55 miles (89 km) away. Immediately, more than 1/3 of the building was gone. Where the bomb went off, a 30-foot (9.1 m) wide, 8-foot deep (2.4 m) crater. The blast destroyed at least 324 buildings and 86 cars within a four-block radius. It shattered the glass of at least 258 nearby buildings.

Some died immediately, others died later, but the death toll eventually reached 168. Most of them died from the collapse of the building, not the bomb blast itself. The victims included three pregnant women and 19 children, one as young as three months. More than 680 people in the building and surrounding area were injured. Hundreds who lived in the area were also now homeless.

As first responders began the rescue efforts, the entire area seemed like a war zone. Eventually more than 12,000 people helped with relief and rescue operations. Rebecca Anderson, a 37-year old nurse, died after being hit on the head by debris trying to rescue victims. 26 others were injured during rescue attempts. From April 24 to 29, rescuers attempted to recover additional bodies by moving rubble. By May 5, all but the bodies of three of the victims had been recovered and rescue operations ended. Demolition workers took down the rest of the building on May 23.

In the days following the bombing, federal agents carried out one of the largest investigations in American history. They had thousands of leads. At first, they assumed a group of people had conspired to carry out the attack. Many Americans assumed it was Middle Eastern terrorists like the ones who carried out the World Trade Center bombing two years prior. To their surprise, it ended up being "one of their own:" Timothy McVeigh.

#okcbombing #ushistory #apush