The USA suffered the worst terrorist attack within its borders when a huge bomb exploded beneath a nine-storey federal office block in Oklahoma City on 19 April.
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As the rescue services painstakingly picked through the unstable wreckage of the shattered building, the death toll from the bomb mounted daily, and was expected to exceed 150 by the time that the work was completed. President Bill Clinton declared Sunday 23 April, as a day of mourning throughout the USA.
The building contained employees from numerous federal agencies, including the much-criticised Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), whose actions had led to the bungled 1993 Waco siege. The bomb, which was thought to have contained around 1,200 lb (550 kg) of explosives, was packed into a rented van which had been left in a car park beneath the building. It exploded shortly after 9 a.m., when most of the 550 people who worked in the building had arrived. Around 20 young children from the day nursery housed in the building were among the dead.
May 1995
Developments relating to the Oklahoma bombing
The rescue operation following the 4,800 lb (2,200-kg) car-bomb attack on a nine-storey federal office block in Oklahoma City on 19 April] was ended on 4 May. A memorial service was held on the following day, and on 23 May the unstable remains of the building were demolished with explosive charges.
The death toll from the incident, the worst terrorist attack within the borders of the USA, had risen to 166. The bodies of two of the dead were not found. Nineteen children were killed in the explosion, and one rescue worker, a nurse, also died.
A former Gulf War veteran, James McVeigh, had been arrested as a suspect in the immediate aftermath of the bombing. A huge manhunt continued for a second suspect – dubbed 'John Doe Number 2' – who was believed with McVeigh to have rented the vehicle in which the bomb had been placed. Also arrested in April were Terry Nichols and his brother James. Initially detained as material witnesses to the bombing, the brothers were later charged with explosives offences. On 10 May Terry Nichols was also charged with having participated directly in the Oklahoma bombing. It was revealed that Terry Nichols's wife and 12-year-old son were being questioned in connection with the crime, and there was considerable speculation that the latter might eventually prove to be John Doe Number 2.
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