In 1995, Timothy McVeigh was responsible for making a bomb and blowing up a federal building in Oklahoma, which earned him the title of the most prolific mass murder in America (Saferstein, 2105). Using a moving truck to house and transport the bomb, he parked it at the federal building and simply walked away (Saferstein, 2105). Shortly after, the truck bomb exploded with such force, it killed 168 people and completely ruined the building (Saferstein, 2105). As fate would have it, he was stopped driving a vehicle by a state trooper for having no license plate later that same morning and arrested for transporting a firearm (Saferstein, 2105). This was fortunate for investigators to take custody of McVeigh after they discovered evidence that …show more content…
Even though the destruction was massive, the truck provided valuable evidence (The Oklahoma City, 2015). Investigators were able to retrieve the VIN number, which gave them the rental location and resulted in the FBI being able to release a sketch of their suspect the very next day (The Oklahoma City, 2015). The motel owner where McVeigh stayed at identified the sketch. This was fortunate because McVeigh was in jail as he was stopped by a state trooper shortly after blowing up the building and arrested for a weapons violation (The Oklahoma City, 2015). The FBI was able to do a simple search and learned the jail he was currently incarcerated in, making for an easy arrest. McVeigh had a close friend from the Army that shred his hatred for the federal government. His name was Terry Nichols (The Oklahoma City, 2015). The address McVeigh used belonged to Terry’s brother. This connection allowed investigators to determine that Nichols assisted McVeigh in acquiring material and making the bomb (The Oklahoma City, 2015). The FBI also learned that McVeigh had another Army friend in Arizona where he spent time-sharing his plans. This friend, Michael Fortier helped finance the plot by selling stolen weapons (The Oklahoma City, 2015). Other evidence included residue from the cloths McVeigh had on when arrested. This residue matched the chemical used in the bomb (The Oklahoma City, 2015). Also, McVeigh’s fingerprints were discovered on a receipt for 2000lbs of fertilizer. This was a crucial element in making the bomb (The Oklahoma City, 2015). The FBI’s investigation was extremely thorough and also included interviewing over 28,000 people (The Oklahoma City, 2015). The jury found McVeigh guilty on all his charges in 1997, and then in 2001 he was executed (The Oklahoma City,
The evidence found on Timothy McVeigh person were ear plugs and clothing (Goodman, 2017). The forensic investigators located trace evidence of nitroglycerine (NG) and pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) on the clothing as well as the ear plugs (Serrano, 1997). The address given while renting the truck was investigated leading investigators to the home of James Nichols, the brother of Terry Nichols a friend of Timothy McVeigh. James Nichols revealed the address of Terry Nichols where investigators located more evidence linking Timothy McVeigh to the bombing. A receipt for a large amount of ammonium nitrate bearing a fingerprint belonging to Timothy McVeigh was among the evidence.
In the forensic investigation, there were 6 pieces of forensic finding used in Timothy McVeigh trial. The first set of the finding was the earplugs that he wore to silent the noise of the explosive. Meanwhile, there was a trace of residue found in his jean pockets along with two t-shirts and a knife with the sheath. Therefore, due to the positive mixture founded on McVeigh, the prosecutor believe that McVeigh was involved in making a bomb from a mixture of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil. It was believed after, Timothy McVeigh also participated in placing the barrel of bomb ingredients in the back of the rental Ryder truck.
McVeigh and Nichols stole explosives from a storage locker in Marion, Kansas on October 1, 1994. On October 3, 1994, McVeigh and Nichols transferred the stolen explosives to Kingman, Arizona. On October 4, 1994, McVeigh rented a storage unit in Kingman, Arizona for the stolen explosives. On October 16, 1994, Nichols registered at a motel in Salina, Kansas under the name of Terry Havens. On October 17, 1994, Nichols rented storage unit No. 40 in Council Grove, Kansas in the name of Joe Kyle.
An Oklahoma State Trooper noticed a missing license plate on a yellow Mercury Marquis conducted a traffic stop. The driver of the vehicle that was pulled over was Timothy McVeigh, who was about 80 miles north of Oklahoma City at the time of the stop. The Trooper found a concealed weapon on McVeigh and he was arrested for the violation. The FBI quickly pieced together the timeline of when he was stopped and arrested, and determined it was only 90 minutes after the bombing of the federal building. The FBI collected McVeigh’s clothes and sent them to
He blew up a clinic that killed a police officer and a nurse, his first fatalities since his initial bombing at the Olympic Games in Atlanta. A partial plate was given by two witnesses to the police and this was used to track him. They knew he was linked to all the bombings because all were dynamite bombs
Perhaps the right-wing extremists began and had intensified following some precedent city and domestic bombings such as the Ruby Ridge, Waco, and Oklahoma. The manner in which the federal government security agencies responded these incidents, in which constitutional rights of women and children were violated, might have caused anti-government wars especially by extremists. In the Ruby Ridge case of August 21, 1992, Randy Weaver who was a white separatist was being targeted by the federal government under the allegations that he sold guns to drug traffickers and failed to report to the court as instructed. The US Marshals and the FBI invaded his home in different occasions killing his wife and 14-year-old son. Waco bombing of 1993 began when
Bombing Plans The start of the plan of the bombing was sought out by the rental of a Ryder truck by Timothy McVeigh. He planted the bomb in the back of the truck because it looked like a regular truck and not a suspicious possible terrorist vehicle. The bomb that McVeigh used was massive, containing 4000lb pounds of TNT. Murrah Building Bombing
The Oklahoma City Bombing What started as a normal day turned into one of the most deadly bombing attacks in Oklahoma’s History. Claiming hundreds of lives, no one could have foretold the damage done by the bomb to the surrounding area nor to the people who have been affected for a lifetime. The Oklahoma City Bombing with lethal effects, was perpetrated by Timothy McVeigh, and caused the government to rethink security measures. Many lives will never be the same after a act of revenge caused catastrophic results. At 9:00 a.m. on April 19,1995, Timothy McVeigh parked a ryder rental truck in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building(“Oklahoma City Bombing”).
The three men wanted to show the government that ATF violated their rights which threatened them. McVeigh was a former soldier who served in the army with the two other men named Terry Nichols and Michael Fortier. The three men became friends and developed a friendship based on their anti-government attitude. McVeigh wanted to bomb
“To Catch a Bombmaker” by Clay Dillow appeared in Popular Science in October 2015. Catching a Bombmaker does not come easy; you must have intelligence, surveillance, and knowledge behind the science of a bomb. In “To Catch a Bombmaker” these three things led to a terrorist being caught in the action. Mr. Dillow’s purpose for writing this piece is to inform. Dillow is very professional in his writing.
The case was directed by the New Jersey State Police, but it turned into a cooperative effort between the New Jersey State Police, New York City State Police, and the FBI (Whitehead 1). The FBI stands for Federal Bureau of Investigation. “The FBI is an intelligence-driven and threat-focused national security organization with both intelligence and law enforcement responsibilities. Their mission is to protect the American people and uphold the United State Constitution” (FBI
When the bomb went off it ended up killing 168 people and about 16 children in the school nearby.(Abc news) The building was taken down in seconds because they had set it up right next to the pillars so the building would collapse faster. When the bomb went off it destroyed about 300 more buildings!! Days after the explosion McVeigh had been stopped for running a stop light and later figured out that he did the bombing and was sentenced to death.(History.com)McVeigh was turned in that moment when he got stopped.
The Virginia Tech shooting was a massacre that occurred on April 16,2007 at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, It resulted in the death of 32 people and wounded 17 people. It was the deadliest shooting that occurred in U.S history and the deadliest by a single gunman. As a kid I remember seeing the tragedy on the news for weeks. This shooting was what reignited the debate over gun control for years to come. Many lawmakers bring up the Virginia Tech shooting to further advance their policies to promote stricter gun control.
The attacks were carried out with a Bushmaster XM-15 semiautomatic .223 caliber rifle equipped with an EOTech holographic weapon sight which is effective at ranges of between 50 and 600 yards. Investigators also discovered that the trunk on the Chevrolet Caprice was made to serve as a “rolling sniper’s nest”. The back seat was made to allow someone to access the trunk from inside the car and be put back together quickly as if it were never modified. The shooter could lie prone and shoot from a small hole near the license plate.
Moments later, the truck that contained a powerful bomb consisting of a mixture of agricultural fertilizer, diesel fuel, and several other deadly chemicals ("Oklahoma City Bombing"). Later in the morning following the explosion, Timothy McVeigh was stopped while driving a 1977 Mercury Marquis by an Oklahoma Highway Patrol officer. The officer found a loaded firearm in the vehicle and McVeigh was charged with transporting a firearm. During the investigation, the rear axle of the Ryder truck was located and a serial number on the axle traced the vehicle back to a body shop in Junction City, Kansas ("Oklahoma City Bombing")