Oklahoma City Bombing Case Study

The Incident One of the worst domestic terrorist attacks in United States history was the Oklahoma City bombing. The attack occurred on April 19, 1995 and the two assailants were Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols. The bombing killed 168 people and wounded 680 others, the blast from the bomb destroyed 324 buildings, causing an estimated $652 million dollars’ worth of damage, but the main building of the attack was the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. The two attackers were captured within an hour and half after the attack for driving without a license plate and were arrested for being in possession of illegal weapons. Forensic evidence was able to swiftly and easily link these two to the bombing. McVeigh who was Gulf War veteran, detonated the truck and parked it in front of the building. Nichols, the accomplice had assisted in bomb preparation. McVeigh’s hatred for the government was fueled by the deadly fire that
His early interest in guns; could have led to the military and becoming a wash out in that, which led to the paramilitary activities and new associates, then led to the bombing.
Mental Health Profile McVeigh was suffering from depression, obsessive-compulsive traits and at least one severe panic attack, says Dr. John Smith the attending psychiatrist. Smith says “He really feels nothing and he feels in my opinion, fully justified in his action.” Timothy lived in a world of being bullied and this created in his mind a delusion that he needed to protect himself from the government. This is why he reverted back to his childhood of being a superhero and beating up those bullies in his head who were picking on him, except now he used explosives and the bully was the government and he was the