On April 19 , 1995 , a truck bomb was detonated outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City , Oklahoma , killing 168 people and injuring over 600 . The bombing became the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in the United States and led to sweeping reforms in United States federal building security . The attack 's perpetrator , Timothy McVeigh , was an anti-government extremist who used the Waco Siege and Ruby Ridge incidents as justification for his retaliation against the federal government . While McVeigh wanted to specifically target the federal agencies involved in the Waco siege , such as the ATF and DEA , the bombing killed many innocent civilians , including 19 children . McVeigh was executed in 2001 and his accomplice Terry Nichols was sentenced to life in prison
was detonated
Oklahoma City bombing
History of the United States (1991–2008)