Timothy James McVeigh (April 23, 1968 – June 11, 2001)
Timothy McVeigh, a former U.S. Army soldier, was convicted
on 15 counts of murder and conspiracy for his role in the
1995 terrorist bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building
in Oklahoma City.
On April 19, 1995, just after 9 a.m., a massive truck bomb
exploded outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.
The blast collapsed the north face of the nine-story building,
instantly killing more than 100 people and trapping dozens
more in the rubble. Emergency crews raced to Oklahoma City
from across the country, and when the rescue effort finally
ended two weeks later, the death toll stood at 168 people,
including 19 young children who were in the building’s day-
care center at the time of the blast.
Oklahoma City firefighter Chris Fields holds
Baylee Almon on April 19, 1995.
Mugshot of McVeigh taken after
his arrest.
On March 19, 2003, the United States, along with coalition
forces primarily from the United Kingdom, initiated war on
Iraq. Just after explosions began to rock Baghdad, Iraq’s
capital, U.S. President George W. Bush announced in a
TV address (below), “At this hour, American and coalition
forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm
Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave
danger.” President Bush and his advisors built much of their
case for war on the specious claim that Iraq, under dictator
Saddam Hussein, possessed or was in the process of building
weapons of mass destruction.
D
The World Trade Center, located in the heart of Manhattan in
New York City, was built in 1966 and instantly became an
iconic landmark for the city.
The Twin Towers, as they were known, stood over 1,360 feet
above ground — each holding 110 floors.
On this day in history, Feb. 26, 1993, the World Trade Center
was bombed — injuring more than 1,000 people.
At around 12:00 p.m., a group of terrorists, including a man
named Ramzi Yousef (below) drove a van into the public
parking garage below the Towers.
The van exploded roughly 17 minutes after noon — creating
a 100-foot crater within the north tower. Six people near the
bomb site were almost immediately killed.
A bomb exploded in the parking garage of the World Trade Center.