Oklahoma City bombing

==Response and relief==

===Rescue efforts===
[[File:Oklahomacitybombing-DF-ST-96-00588.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Several Air Force members and firefighters are clearing debris from the damaged building. Several yellow buckets are visible, which are being used to hold the debris. The destruction of the bombing is visible behind the rescuers.|U.S. Air Force personnel and firefighters removing rubble in the rescue attempt]]
At 9:03&nbsp;a.m., the first of over 1,800 [[911 (emergency telephone number)|911]] calls related to the bombing were received by [[Emergency Medical Services Authority]] (EMSA).<ref name="DPost">{{cite news|last=Eddy |first=Mark |title=April&nbsp;19, 1995 |work=[[The Denver Post]] |url=http://extras.denverpost.com/bomb/his22.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928173328/http://extras.denverpost.com/bomb/his22.htm |archive-date=September 28, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> By that time, EMSA ambulances, police, and firefighters had heard the blast and were already headed to the scene.<ref name="TM">{{cite web|title=The Oklahoma City Bombing: Immediate Response Authority and Other Military Assistance to Civil Authority (MACA) |work=The Army Lawyer |date=July 1997 |last=Winthrop |first=Jim |url=http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=189854 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150927182023/https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=189854 |archive-date=September 27, 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Nearby civilians, who had also witnessed or heard the blast, arrived to assist the victims and emergency workers.<ref name="Terrorism Info" /> Within 23 minutes of the bombing, the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) was set up, consisting of representatives from the state departments of public safety, human services, military, health, and education. Assisting the SEOC were agencies including the [[National Weather Service (United States)|National Weather Service]], the [[United States Air Force|Air Force]], the [[Civil Air Patrol]], and the [[American Red Cross]].<ref name="USDJ2">{{cite web|title=Responding to Terrorism Victims: Oklahoma City and Beyond: Chapter II: The Immediate Crisis Response|work=[[U.S. Department of Justice]]|url=http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/publications/infores/respterrorism/chap2.html|date=October 2000|access-date=March 24, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425120535/http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/publications/infores/respterrorism/chap2.html|archive-date=April 25, 2009}}</ref> Immediate assistance also came from 465&nbsp;members of the [[Oklahoma National Guard]], who arrived within the hour to provide security, and from members of the Department of Civil Emergency Management.<ref name="TM"/> [[Terrance Yeakey]] and Jim Ramsey, from the Oklahoma City Police Department, were among the first officers to arrive at the site.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/3ebc3988a035d212f7aa9ed481da2c4d|title=Reluctant Hero of the Oklahoma City Bombing Commits Suicide|website=AP NEWS|access-date=March 18, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Ap|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/05/11/us/a-policeman-who-rescued-4-in-bombing-kills-himself.html|title=A Policeman Who Rescued 4 in Bombing Kills Himself|date=May 11, 1996|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=March 18, 2020|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/careers/chi-0504180178apr18-story.html|title=Jim Ramsey: Tragedy haunts the heroes - Chicago Tribune|website=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=November 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107102531/https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/careers/chi-0504180178apr18-story.html|access-date=March 18, 2020|archive-date=November 7, 2018}}</ref>

The EMS command post was set up almost immediately following the attack and oversaw triage, treatment, transportation, and decontamination. A simple plan/objective was established: treatment and transportation of the injured was to be done as quickly as possible, supplies and personnel to handle a large number of patients was needed immediately, the dead needed to be moved to a temporary morgue until they could be transferred to the coroner's office, and measures for a long-term medical operation needed to be established.<ref name="Davis 1995 98–107">{{cite journal|last=Davis|first=G|title=Victims by the Hundreds: EMS Response and Command|journal=Fire Engineering|year=1995|volume=148|issue=10|pages=98–107|url=http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/9511202906|access-date=November 17, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510130659/http://ehis.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=4&hid=120&sid=addefe36-e54d-4fd6-b9b5-8e7d53deac96%40sessionmgr110&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=9511202906|archive-date=May 10, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> The triage center was set up near the Murrah Building and all the wounded were directed there. Two hundred and ten patients were transported from the primary triage center to nearby hospitals within the first couple of hours following the bombing.<ref name="Davis 1995 98–107"/>

Within the first hour, 50&nbsp;people were rescued from the Murrah Federal Building.<ref name="Giordano36">{{cite book|last=Giordano|first=Geraldine|title=The Oklahoma City Bombing|page=[https://archive.org/details/oklahomacitybomb00gior/page/36 36]|isbn=978-0-8239-3655-7|date=December 15, 2002|url=https://archive.org/details/oklahomacitybomb00gior/page/36|publisher=New York : Rosen}}</ref> Victims were sent to every hospital in the area. The day of the bombing, 153 people were treated at St. Anthony Hospital, eight blocks from the blast, over 70 people were treated at Presbyterian Hospital, 41 people were treated at University Hospital, and 18 people were treated at Children's Hospital.<ref name="ITN68">{{cite book|last=Irving|first=Clive|title=In Their Name|page=[https://archive.org/details/intheirnamededic00irvi/page/68 68]|isbn=978-0-679-44825-9|year=1995|url=https://archive.org/details/intheirnamededic00irvi/page/68|publisher=New York : Random House}}</ref> Temporary silences were observed at the blast site so that sensitive listening devices capable of detecting human heartbeats could be used to locate survivors. In some cases, limbs had to be amputated without anesthetics (avoided because of the potential to induce shock) in order to free those trapped under rubble.<ref name="OttleyBadDay">{{cite news|last=Ottley |first=Ted |url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime//serial_killers/notorious/mcveigh/dawning_1.html |title=The Oklahoma City Bombing: Bad Day Dawning |publisher=truTV |date=April 14, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110427025830/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/notorious/mcveigh/dawning_1.html |archive-date=April 27, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The scene had to be periodically evacuated as the police received tips claiming that other bombs had been planted in the building.<ref name="OttleyInnocence"/>

At 10:28&nbsp;a.m., rescuers found what they believed to be a second bomb. Some rescue workers refused to leave until police ordered the mandatory evacuation of a four-block area around the site.<ref name="DPost"/><ref name="ITN78">{{cite book|last=Irving|first=Clive|title=In Their Name|page=[https://archive.org/details/intheirnamededic00irvi/page/78 78]|isbn=978-0-679-44825-9|year=1995|url=https://archive.org/details/intheirnamededic00irvi/page/78|publisher=New York : Random House}}</ref> The device was determined to be a three-foot (.9-m) long [[BGM-71 TOW|TOW missile]] used in the training of federal agents and bomb-sniffing dogs;<ref name="TI3"/><ref name="TOWMissile">{{cite news|last=Solomon|first=John|title=Gov't had missile in Murrah Building|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-67753739.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104000502/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-67753739.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 4, 2012|url-access=registration |date=September 26, 2002|agency=Associated Press|access-date=June 5, 2009}}</ref> although actually inert, it had been marked "live" in order to mislead arms traffickers in a planned law enforcement sting.<ref name="TOWMissile"/> On examination the missile was determined to be inert, and relief efforts resumed 45&nbsp;minutes later.<ref name="TOWMissile"/><ref name="TOWBoom">{{cite news|last=Talley |first=Tim |title=Nichols Jury Hears Recording of Bombing |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-93750984.html  |date=April 23, 2004 |via=[[HighBeam Research]] |agency=Associated Press |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105164059/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-93750984.html |archive-date=November 5, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The last survivor, a 15-year-old girl found under the base of the collapsed building, was rescued at around 7&nbsp;p.m.<ref name="ChillMiracle">{{cite news|last=Driver|first=Don|author2=Marty Sabota|title=Rescuers search through chill for a miracle|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SAEC&p_theme=saec&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAFE756F74387D9&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|url-access=registration |date=April 23, 1995|work=[[San Antonio Express-News]]|access-date=April 7, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609012514/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SAEC&p_theme=saec&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAFE756F74387D9&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|archive-date=June 9, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the days following the blast, over 12,000&nbsp;people participated in relief and rescue operations. The [[Federal Emergency Management Agency]] (FEMA) activated 11 of its [[FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force|Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces]], bringing in 665&nbsp;rescue workers.<ref name="USDJ2"/><ref name="FEMAUSAR"/> One nurse was killed in the rescue attempt after she was hit on the head by debris, and 26&nbsp;other rescuers were hospitalized because of various injuries.<ref name="TreatingComp62">{{cite book|last=Figley|first=Charles R|title=Treating Compassion Fatigue|page=62|isbn=978-1-58391-053-5|year=2002|publisher=Brunner-Routledge }}</ref> Twenty-four [[Police dog|K-9]] units and out-of-state dogs were brought in to search for survivors and bodies in the building debris.<ref name="TI3"/><ref name="ITN103">{{cite book|last=Irving|first=Clive|title=In Their Name|page=[https://archive.org/details/intheirnamededic00irvi/page/103 103]|isbn=978-0-679-44825-9|year=1995|url=https://archive.org/details/intheirnamededic00irvi/page/103|publisher=New York : Random House}}</ref><ref name="Giordano34">{{cite book|last=Giordano|first=Geraldine|title=The Oklahoma City Bombing|page=[https://archive.org/details/oklahomacitybomb00gior/page/34 34]|isbn=978-0-8239-3655-7|date=December 15, 2002|url=https://archive.org/details/oklahomacitybomb00gior/page/34|publisher=New York : Rosen}}</ref> In an effort to recover additional bodies, {{convert|100|to|350|ST|MT|abbr=on}} of rubble were removed from the site each day from April 24 to 29.<ref name="ITN86">{{cite book|last=Irving|first=Clive|title=In Their Name|page=[https://archive.org/details/intheirnamededic00irvi/page/86 86]|isbn=978-0-679-44825-9|year=1995 |url=https://archive.org/details/intheirnamededic00irvi/page/86|publisher=New York : Random House}}</ref>

[[File:MurrahBuildingDemolitionMay1995.jpg|thumb|right|alt=The Alfred P. Murrah building is being demolished, and the image shows the building in mid-collapse. A Ryder truck is visible at the bottom left, and the Regency Towers building can be seen in the background at the far right. The demolition has created large clouds of dust that take up a portion of the image.|The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building being demolished on May 23, 1995, over a month after the incident. The bomb used in the attack was housed in a Ryder truck similar to the one visible in the lower left of the photograph.]]
Rescue and recovery efforts were concluded at 12:05&nbsp;a.m. on May 5, by which time the bodies of all but three of the victims had been recovered.<ref name="Terrorism Info"/> For safety reasons, the building was initially slated to be demolished shortly afterward. McVeigh's attorney, [[Stephen Jones (attorney)|Stephen Jones]], filed a motion to delay the demolition until the defense team could examine the site in preparation for the trial.<ref name="Unfinished140">{{cite book|last=Linenthal|first=Edward|title=The Unfinished Bombing: Oklahoma City in American Memory|page=140|isbn=978-0-19-516107-6|year=2003|publisher=Oxford University Press }}</ref> At 7:02&nbsp;a.m. on May 23, more than a month after the bombing, the Murrah Federal building was demolished.<ref name="Terrorism Info"/><ref name="AmericanMonst234">{{cite book|last=Stickney|first=Brandom M|title=All-American Monster|page=[https://archive.org/details/allamericanmonst00stic/page/234 234]|isbn=978-1-57392-088-9|year=1996|url=https://archive.org/details/allamericanmonst00stic/page/234|publisher=Prometheus Books}}</ref> The EMS Command Center remained active and was staffed 24 hours a day until the demolition.<ref name="Davis 1995 98–107"/> The final three bodies to be recovered were those of two credit union employees and a customer.<ref name="CNNI">{{cite news|last=Candiotti|first=Susan|title=Federal Building Demolition|publisher=[[CNN]]|url=http://www.cnn.com/US/OKC/facts/Cleanup/Implosion5-23/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080308170052/http://www.cnn.com/US/OKC/facts/Cleanup/Implosion5-23/index.html|archive-date=March 8, 2008|date=May 23, 1995}}</ref> For several days after the building's demolition, trucks hauled away {{convert|800|ST|MT|abbr=on}} of debris a day from the site. Some of the debris was used as evidence in the conspirators' trials, incorporated into memorials, donated to local schools, or sold to raise funds for relief efforts.<ref name="Unfinished14244">{{cite book|last=Linenthal|first=Edward|title=The Unfinished Bombing: Oklahoma City in American Memory|pages=142–144|isbn=978-0-19-516107-6|year=2003|publisher=Oxford University Press }}</ref>

===Humanitarian aid===
The national humanitarian response was immediate, and in some cases even overwhelming. Large numbers of items such as wheelbarrows, bottled water, helmet lights, knee pads, rain gear, and even football helmets were donated.<ref name="USDJ2"/><ref name="Apocalypse623"/> The sheer quantity of such donations caused logistical and inventory control problems until drop-off centers were set up to accept and sort the goods.<ref name="Terrorism Info"/> The Oklahoma Restaurant Association, which was holding a trade show in the city, assisted rescue workers by providing 15,000 to 20,000 meals over ten days.<ref name="Unfinished47">{{cite book|last=Linenthal|first=Edward|title=The Unfinished Bombing: Oklahoma City in American Memory|page=47|isbn=978-0-19-516107-6|year=2003|publisher=Oxford University Press }}</ref>

[[The Salvation Army]] served over 100,000 meals and provided over 100,000 ponchos, gloves, hard hats, and knee pads to rescue workers.<ref name="SADonations">{{cite news|agency=Associated Press|title=$10&nbsp;million collected for bombing victims|work=[[The Pantagraph]]|date=June 5, 1995}}</ref> Local residents and those from further afield responded to the requests for [[blood donation]]s.<ref name="Apocalypse60">{{cite book|title=Apocalypse in Oklahoma|last=Hamm|first=Mark S|page=60|isbn=978-1-55553-300-7|year=1997|publisher=Northeastern University Press }}</ref><ref name="SDBB">{{cite web|title=San Diego Blood Bank History |publisher=San Diego Blood Bank |url=http://www.sandiegobloodbank.org/about_us/history.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110302080328/http://www.sandiegobloodbank.org/about_us/history.php |archive-date=March 2, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Of the over 9,000 units of blood donated, 131 were used; the rest were stored in [[blood bank]]s.<ref name="GAO">{{cite web|last=Heinrich|first=Janet|title=Maintaining an Adequate Blood Supply Is Key to Emergency Preparedness|publisher=[[Government Accountability Office]]|url=http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d021095t.pdf|date=September 10, 2002|access-date=September 25, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224105302/http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d021095t.pdf|archive-date=December 24, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Federal and state government aid===
[[File:President Bill Clinton's Eulogy for the Bombing Victims in Oklahoma City 1995.png|thumb|right|alt=A document showing Bill Clinton's message to victims. Some of the typed text has been scribbled out and replaced with hand-written text.|[[Bill Clinton]]'s notes for address to the Oklahoma City bombing victims on April 23, 1995]]
At 9:45&nbsp;a.m., Governor [[Frank Keating]] declared a [[state of emergency]] and ordered all non-essential workers in the Oklahoma City area to be released from their duties for their safety.<ref name="Terrorism Info"/> President [[Bill Clinton]] learned about the bombing at around 9:30&nbsp;a.m. while he was meeting with Turkish Prime Minister [[Tansu Çiller]] at the White House.<ref name="Jennings 1995-04-19"/><ref name="Apocalypse46">{{cite book|title=Apocalypse in Oklahoma|last=Hamm|first=Mark S|page=46|isbn=978-1-55553-300-7|year=1997|publisher=Northeastern University Press }}</ref> Before addressing the nation, President Clinton considered grounding all planes in the Oklahoma City area to prevent the bombers from escaping by air, but decided against it.<ref name="Apocalypse578"/> At 4:00&nbsp;p.m., President Clinton declared a federal emergency in Oklahoma City<ref name="TM"/> and spoke to the nation:<ref name="Jennings 1995-04-19"/>

{{Blockquote|The bombing in Oklahoma City was an attack on innocent children and defenseless citizens. It was an act of cowardice and it was evil. The United States will not tolerate it, and I will not allow the people of this country to be intimidated by evil cowards.}}

He ordered that flags for all federal buildings be flown at [[half-staff]] for 30&nbsp;days in remembrance of the victims.<ref name="Apocalypse71">{{cite book|title=Apocalypse in Oklahoma|last=Hamm|first=Mark S|page=71|isbn=978-1-55553-300-7|year=1997|publisher=Northeastern University Press }}</ref> Four days later, on April 23, 1995, Clinton spoke from Oklahoma City.<ref name="ClintonApril23Speech">{{cite news|last=Keating |first=Frank |author-link=Frank Keating |title=Where Terrorists Belong |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/31/opinion/where-terrorists-belong.html |date=August 31, 1999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605205211/http://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/31/opinion/where-terrorists-belong.html |archive-date=June 5, 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

No major federal financial assistance was made available to the survivors of the Oklahoma City bombing, but the Murrah Fund set up in the wake of the bombing attracted over $300,000 in federal grants.<ref name="USDJ2"/> Over $40&nbsp;million was donated to the city to aid disaster relief and to compensate the victims. Funds were initially distributed to families who needed it to get back on their feet, and the rest was held in trust for longer-term medical and psychological needs. By 2005, $18&nbsp;million of the donations remained, some of which was earmarked to provide a college education for each of the 219&nbsp;children who lost one or both parents in the bombing.<ref name="TormentLingers">{{cite news |last=Witt |first=Howard |title=Torment lingers in OK City |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0504170293apr17,0,6613315.story |date=April 17, 2005 |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025074244/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0504170293apr17,0,6613315.story |archive-date=October 25, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> A committee chaired by Daniel Kurtenbach of [[Goodwill Industries]] provided financial assistance to the survivors.<ref name="Goodwill">{{cite web|url=http://www.gimv.org/about_us/ceo.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070426071526/http://www.gimv.org/about_us/ceo.htm|archive-date=April 26, 2007|title=Meet Our President/CEO|publisher=[[Goodwill Industries]]}}</ref>

===International reaction===
International reactions to the bombing varied. President Clinton received many messages of sympathy, including those from [[Queen Elizabeth&nbsp;II]] of the [[United Kingdom]], [[Yasser Arafat]] of the [[Palestine Liberation Organization]], and [[P. V. Narasimha Rao]] of [[India]].<ref name="InternationalReaction">{{cite news|title=Friend, Foe United in Vilifying Attack Reaction: Compassion for victims' families, disgust at blast's callousness run as common threads through world leaders' responses |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/21401509.html?dids=21401509:21401509&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Apr+21%2C+1995&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+%28pre-1997+Fulltext%29&desc=TERROR+IN+OKLAHOMA+CITY+Friend%2C+Foe+United+in+Vilifying+Attack+Reaction%3A+Compassion+for+victims%27+families%2C+disgust+at+blast%27s+callousness+run+as+common+threads+through+world+leaders%27+responses.&pqatl=google|format=Fee required|work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=April 21, 1995|access-date=April 7, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120725064008/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/21401509.html?dids=21401509:21401509&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Apr+21%2C+1995&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+%28pre-1997+Fulltext%29&desc=TERROR+IN+OKLAHOMA+CITY+Friend%2C+Foe+United+in+Vilifying+Attack+Reaction%3A+Compassion+for+victims%27+families%2C+disgust+at+blast%27s+callousness+run+as+common+threads+through+world+leaders%27+responses.&pqatl=google|archive-date=July 25, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Iran]] condemned the bombing as an attack on innocent people, but also blamed the U.S. government's policies for inciting it. Other condolences came from [[Russia]], [[Canada]], [[Australia]], the [[United Nations]], and the [[European Union]], among other nations and organizations.<ref name="InternationalReaction"/><ref name="UNReaction">{{cite news|title='How Deeply We Share the Sorrow' Rabin Also Offers Help; Boutros-Ghali Condemns 'Cowardly Attack'|work=[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]]|date=April 20, 1995}}</ref>

Several countries offered to assist in both the rescue efforts and the investigation. France offered to send a special rescue unit,<ref name="InternationalReaction"/> and Israeli Prime Minister [[Yitzhak Rabin]] offered to send agents with anti-terrorist expertise to help in the investigation.<ref name="UNReaction"/> President Clinton declined Israel's offer, believing that accepting it would increase anti-Muslim sentiments and endanger [[Islam in the United States|Muslim-Americans]].<ref name="Apocalypse578">{{cite book|title=Apocalypse in Oklahoma|last=Hamm|first=Mark S|pages=57–58|isbn=978-1-55553-300-7|year=1997|publisher=Northeastern University Press }}</ref>

===Children affected===
[[File:Firefighterbabyocb.jpg|thumb|right|upright|alt=A firefighter is holding a dying toddler in his arms, and he is looking down at her. The toddler has blood on her head, arms, and legs, and is wearing white socks.|Charles Porter's photograph of firefighter Chris Fields holding the dying infant Baylee Almon won the [[Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography]] in 1996.<ref name="PorterLaRue">{{Cite news|agency=Associated Press|title=A Mother's Pain For Ever Frozen in Time|work=[[The Star (South Africa)|The Star]]|date=April 19, 2005}}</ref>]]
In the wake of the bombing, the national media focused on the fact that 19 of the victims had been babies and children, many in the day-care center. At the time of the bombing, there were 100&nbsp;day-care centers in the United States in 7,900&nbsp;federal buildings.<ref name="Apocalypse578"/> McVeigh later stated that he was unaware of the day-care center when choosing the building as a target, and if he had known "...&nbsp;it might have given me pause to switch targets. That's a large amount of [[collateral damage]]."<ref name="DayCareKnew">{{cite news|title=FBI: McVeigh knew children would be killed in OKC blast |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/03/29/mcveigh.book.01/ |date=March 29, 2001 |publisher=CNN |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080510065143/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/03/29/mcveigh.book.01/ |archive-date=May 10, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The FBI stated that McVeigh scouted the interior of the building in December 1994 and likely knew of the day-care center before the bombing.<ref name="TimeWeight"/><ref name="DayCareKnew"/> In April 2010, Joseph Hartzler, the prosecutor at McVeigh's trial, questioned how McVeigh could have decided to pass over a prior target building because of a florist shop but at the Murrah building, not "...&nbsp;notice that there's a child day-care center there, that there was a credit union there and a Social Security office?"<ref name="Prosecutor">{{cite news|last=Schoenburg |first=Bernard |url=http://www.sj-r.com/top-stories/x57956772/McVeigh-prosecutor-Focus-on-victims-of-Oklahoma-City-bombing |title=McVeigh prosecutor: Focus on victims of Oklahoma City bombing |work=[[The State Journal-Register]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229112840/http://www.sj-r.com/top-stories/x57956772/McVeigh-prosecutor-Focus-on-victims-of-Oklahoma-City-bombing |archive-date=February 29, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Schools across the country were dismissed early and ordered closed. A photograph of firefighter Chris Fields emerging from the rubble with infant Baylee Almon, who later died in a nearby hospital, was reprinted worldwide and became a symbol of the attack. The photo, taken by bank employee Charles H. Porter&nbsp;IV, won the 1996 [[Pulitzer Prize]] for Spot News Photography and appeared on newspapers and magazines for months following the attack.<ref name="TouristsHistory98">{{cite book|title=Tourists of History|last=Sturken|first=Marita|page=98|isbn=978-0-8223-4122-2|date=November 2007|publisher=Duke University Press }}</ref><ref name="PorterPPrize">{{cite web|url=http://www.pulitzer.org/works/1996,Spot+News+Photography |title=1996 Pulitzer Prizes-Spot News Photography |publisher=[[Pulitzer Prize]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524173224/http://www.pulitzer.org/works/1996-Spot-News-Photography |archive-date=May 24, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
Aren Almon Kok, mother of Baylee Almon, said of the photo, "It was very hard to go to stores because they are in the check out aisle. It was always there. It was devastating. Everybody had seen my daughter dead. And that's all she became to them. She was a symbol. She was the girl in the fireman's arms. But she was a real person that got left behind."<ref>{{cite web|last1=West|first1=Lance|title="It's still tough to talk about," Firefighter from iconic Oklahoma City bombing photo retires|url=http://kfor.com/2017/03/21/its-still-tough-to-talk-about-firefighter-from-iconic-oklahoma-city-bombing-photo-retires/|website=News Channel 4|access-date=March 22, 2017|date=March 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170322052242/http://kfor.com/2017/03/21/its-still-tough-to-talk-about-firefighter-from-iconic-oklahoma-city-bombing-photo-retires/|archive-date=March 22, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

The images and media reports of children dying terrorized many children who, as demonstrated by later research, showed symptoms of [[post-traumatic stress disorder]].<ref name="ChildPTSD">{{cite journal|title=The impact of the Oklahoma City bombing on children in the community|last=Pfefferbaum|first=Betty|author-link=Betty Pfefferbaum|format=Fee required|journal=Military Medicine |url=http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=13422617 |volume=166 |issue=12 |date=April 23, 2009 |pages=49–50 |access-date=March 3, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219163129/http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=13422617 |archive-date=February 19, 2014 |url-status=live |doi=10.1093/milmed/166.suppl_2.49 |pmid=11778433 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Children became a primary focus of concern in the mental health response to the bombing and many bomb-related services were delivered to the community, young and old alike. These services were delivered to public schools of Oklahoma and reached approximately 40,000 students. One of the first organized mental health activities in Oklahoma City was a clinical study of middle and high school students conducted seven weeks after the bombing. The study focused on middle and high school students who had no connection or relationship to the victims of the bombing. This study showed that these students, although deeply moved by the event and showing a sense of vulnerability on the matter, had no difficulty with the demands of school or home life, as contrasted to those who were connected to the bombing and its victims, who had post-traumatic stress disorder.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Pfefferbaum|first=Betty|author2=Sconzo, Guy M.|author3=Flynn, Brian W.|author4=Kearns, Lauri J.|author5=Doughty, Debby E.|author6=Gurwitch, Robin H.|author7=Nixon, Sara Jo |author8=Nawaz, Shajitha|title=Case Finding and Mental Health Services for Children in the Aftermath of the Oklahoma City Bombing|journal=Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research|year=2003|volume=30|issue=2|pages=215–227|doi=10.1097/00075484-200304000-00006|pmid=12710374}}</ref>

Children were also affected through the loss of parents in the bombing. Many children lost one or both parents in the blast, with a reported seven children losing their only remaining parent. Children of the disaster have been raised by single parents, foster parents, and other family members. Adjusting to the loss has made these children suffer psychologically and emotionally. One orphan who was interviewed (of the at least 10 orphaned children) reported sleepless nights and an obsession with death.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Leland |first=John |title=The orphans of Oklahoma City |magazine=Newsweek |date=April 22, 1996 |volume=127 |issue=17 |page=40 |url=http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/9604167868 |access-date=November 27, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510130442/http://ehis.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=6&hid=5&sid=707c93db-5d99-4077-abc0-8b54065a360e%40sessionmgr4&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=a9h&AN=9604167868 |archive-date=May 10, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

President Clinton stated that after seeing images of babies being pulled from the wreckage, he was "beyond angry" and wanted to "put [his] fist through the television".<ref name="Apocalypse54">{{cite book|title=Apocalypse in Oklahoma|last=Hamm|first=Mark S|page=54|isbn=978-1-55553-300-7|year=1997|publisher=Northeastern University Press }}</ref> Clinton and his wife [[Hillary Clinton|Hillary]] requested that aides talk to child care specialists about how to communicate with children regarding the bombing. President Clinton said to the nation three days after the bombing, "I don't want our children to believe something terrible about life and the future and grownups in general because of this awful thing&nbsp;... most adults are good people who want to protect our children in their childhood and we are going to get through this".<ref name="DMN">{{cite news|last=Loe|first=Victoria|title=Berlin-Based Team's Design Chosen for Bomb Memorial; Winning Entry Evokes Images of Reflection, Hope |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DM&p_theme=dm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0ED3D9275A9192BE&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|format=Fee required|date=July 5, 1997|work=[[The Dallas Morning News]]|access-date=June 5, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609012558/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DM&p_theme=dm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0ED3D9275A9192BE&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|archive-date=June 9, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> On April 22, 1995, the Clintons spoke in the White House with over 40&nbsp;federal agency employees and their children, and in a live nationwide television and radio broadcast, addressed their concerns.<ref name="ChildrenBroadcast">{{cite news|last=Martin|first=Gary|title=President demands execution for bombers|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SAEC&p_theme=saec&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAFE75716F22FFF&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|format=Fee required|date=April 24, 1995|work=[[San Antonio Express-News]]|access-date=June 27, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609012612/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SAEC&p_theme=saec&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAFE75716F22FFF&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|archive-date=June 9, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="ClintonProve">{{cite news|last=Thomma|first=Steven|title=With his swift response, Clinton grabs center stage|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PI&s_site=philly&p_multi=PI&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB32BDB4248171F&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|format=Fee required|date=April 23, 1995|work=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]|access-date=June 27, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609012635/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PI&s_site=philly&p_multi=PI&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB32BDB4248171F&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|archive-date=June 9, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Media coverage===
Hundreds of news trucks and members of the press arrived at the site to cover the story. The press immediately noticed that the bombing took place on the second anniversary of the [[Waco Siege|Waco incident]].<ref name="Jennings 1995-04-19"/>

Many initial news stories hypothesized the attack had been undertaken by Islamic terrorists, such as those who had masterminded the [[1993 World Trade Center bombing]].{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|p=249}}<ref name="GuysGunsAmok102">{{cite book|title=Guys and Guns Amok|last=Kellner|first=Douglas|page=102|isbn=978-1-59451-493-7|date=January 1, 2008|publisher=Paradigm Publishers }}</ref><ref name="Apocalypse55">{{cite book|title=Apocalypse in Oklahoma|last=Hamm|first=Mark S|page=55|isbn=978-1-55553-300-7|year=1997|publisher=Northeastern University Press }}</ref> Some media reported that investigators wanted to question men of Middle Eastern appearance.<ref name="New York Times">{{cite news|title=At Least 31 Are Dead, Scores Are Missing After Car Bomb Attack in Oklahoma City Wrecks 9-Story Federal Building|author=Johnson, David|page=1|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/20/us/terror-oklahoma-city-investigation-least-31-are-dead-scores-are-missing-after.html|access-date=November 10, 2012|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=April 20, 1995|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150205001243/http://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/20/us/terror-oklahoma-city-investigation-least-31-are-dead-scores-are-missing-after.html|archive-date=February 5, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Hamzi Moghrabi, chairman of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, blamed the media for harassment of Muslims and Arabs that took place after the bombing.<ref>{{cite news|title=Jumping to Conclusions in Oklahoma City?|author=Fuchs, Penny|pages=1–2|url=http://www.ajr.org/article.asp?id=1980|access-date=November 10, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205081115/http://www.ajr.org/article.asp?id=1980|archive-date=December 5, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>

As the rescue effort wound down, the media interest shifted to the investigation, arrests, and trials of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, and on the search for an additional suspect named "John Doe Number Two." Several witnesses claimed to have seen a second suspect, who did not resemble Nichols, with McVeigh.<ref name="NYTimes">{{cite news|last=Kifner |first=John |title=June&nbsp;11–17: John Doe No. 2; A Dragnet Leads Down One More Blind Alley |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=July 18, 1995 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/18/weekinreview/june-11-17-john-doe-no-2-a-dragnet-leads-down-one-more-blind-alley.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605153620/http://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/18/weekinreview/june-11-17-john-doe-no-2-a-dragnet-leads-down-one-more-blind-alley.html |archive-date=June 5, 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="ChicSunTimes">{{cite news|last = Krall|first = Jay|title = Conspiracy buffs see Padilla, Oklahoma City link|date = June 18, 2002|work = [[Chicago Sun-Times]]|url = http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1445621.html|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140611112955/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1445621.html|url-status=dead|archive-date = June 11, 2014|access-date = June 30, 2015|via = [[HighBeam]] }}</ref>

Those who expressed sympathy for McVeigh typically described his deed as an act of war, as in the case of [[Gore Vidal]]'s essay ''The Meaning of Timothy McVeigh''.<ref name="MeaningMcVeigh">{{cite news|last=Vidal |first=Gore |title=The Meaning of Timothy McVeigh |date=September 2001 |work=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2001/09/mcveigh200109 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110301074302/http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2001/09/mcveigh200109 |archive-date=March 1, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="McVeighRevere">{{cite news|last=Gibbons |first=Fiachra |title=Vidal Praises Oklahoma Bomber for Heroic Aims |date=August 17, 2001 |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/aug/17/edinburghbookfestival2001.mcveigh |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110307200124/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/17/edinburghbookfestival2001.mcveigh |archive-date=March 7, 2011 |location=London |url-status=dead}}</ref>