Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial It was April 19, 1995 at 9:03 that the lives of thousands were affected by one single explosion. The explosion took the lives of 168 men, women, and children. The explosion physically injured 600 individuals and emotionally injured numerous amounts of people around the world. The explosion took place at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma. A staff writer for a newspaper was quoted stating the bomb was color blind ( Yumi Wilson, Chronicle staff writer, Langston University). It didnt matter what age, race, or background the victims came from. The one attribute that all of the victims had in common was the fact that they were all innocent targets affected by the hostility of hate and terrorism.The primary individual responsible for this tragedy is a man named Timothy McVeigh. A 27yr old white man who possed a great hostility toward the government. He constructed a deadly bomb made of fertilizer and fuel oil, placed it in the back of a Ryder truck and drove and parked it at the state building. He was later arraigned on charges of 11 counts of conspiracy and murder charges. He was convicted and sentenced for the crimes on June 2, 1997. The other man who was suspected of having been involved in the bombing was Terry Nichols. Though he was involved in the planning he did not actually help McVeigh transport or set off the bomb. He was found guilty and was charged with involuntary manslaughter and conspiracy; Nichols was later acquitted from the murder charges.Though the justice system punished the criminals for their crimes and may have provided the family and friends of those who died with some degree of solace, the grief and, fear, emptiness, and loss of security can never be replaced. It was an unfortunate tragedy to those who lost their lives it brought together the people of our nation and showed no discrimination, only unity among a mass of people who could not get through this atrocity ...
