Oklahoma City bombing

====Building the bomb====
[[File:Map of Kansas highlighting Geary County.svg|thumb|260x260px|[[Geary County, Kansas]] (in red), where Geary Lake is located. This is where McVeigh and Nichols constructed the bomb.]]
On April 17–18, 1995, McVeigh and Nichols removed the bomb supplies from their storage unit in [[Herington, Kansas]], where Nichols lived, and loaded them into the Ryder rental truck.{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|p=215}} They then drove to Geary Lake State Park, where they nailed boards onto the floor of the truck to hold the 13&nbsp;barrels in place and mixed the chemicals using plastic buckets and a bathroom scale.{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|p=216}} Each filled barrel weighed nearly {{convert|500|lb|kg}}.{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|pp=217–218}} McVeigh added more explosives to the driver's side of the cargo bay, which he could ignite (killing himself in the process) at close range with his [[Glock 21]] pistol in case the primary fuses failed.{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|p=219}} During McVeigh's trial, Lori Fortier stated that McVeigh claimed to have arranged the barrels in order to form a [[shaped charge]].<ref name="McVeighBomb33"/> This was achieved by [[wikt:tamp|tamping]] (placing material against explosives opposite the target of the explosion) the aluminum side panel of the truck with bags of ammonium nitrate fertilizer to direct the blast laterally towards the building.<ref name="web.mst.edu">{{cite web|title=Some Practical Applications of Forensic Seismology|last=Rogers|first=J. David|author2=Keith D. Koper|publisher=[[Missouri University of Science and Technology]]|url=http://web.mst.edu/~rogersda/umrcourses/ge342/Forensic%20Seismology-revised.pdf|pages=25–35|access-date=June 5, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029190716/http://web.mst.edu/~rogersda/umrcourses/ge342/Forensic%20Seismology-revised.pdf|archive-date=October 29, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> Specifically, McVeigh arranged the barrels in the shape of a backwards J; he later said that for pure destructive power, he would have put the barrels on the side of the cargo bay closest to the Murrah Building; however, such an unevenly distributed {{convert|7000|lb|kg|adj=on}} load might have broken an axle, flipped the truck over, or at least caused it to lean to one side, which could have drawn attention.{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|pp=217–218}} All or most of the barrels of [[ANNM]] contained metal cylinders of [[acetylene]] intended to increase the fireball and the [[brisance]] of the explosion.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tech.mit.edu/V115/N21/mcveigh.21w.html|title=McVeigh Held in Conjunction with Oklahoma City Bombing|work=mit.edu|access-date=June 21, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150205001924/http://tech.mit.edu/V115/N21/mcveigh.21w.html|archive-date=February 5, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

McVeigh then added a dual-fuse ignition system accessible from the truck's front cab. He drilled two&nbsp;holes in the cab of the truck under the seat, while two&nbsp;holes were also drilled in the body of the truck. One&nbsp;green cannon fuse was run through each hole into the cab. These time-delayed fuses led from the cab through plastic fish-tank tubing conduit to two sets of non-electric blasting caps which would ignite around {{convert|350|lb|kg}} of the high-grade explosives that McVeigh stole from a rock quarry.{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|pp=217–218}} The tubing was painted yellow to blend in with the truck's [[livery]], and duct-taped in place to the wall to make it harder to disable by yanking from the outside.{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|pp=217–218}} The fuses were set up to initiate, through shock tubes, the {{convert|350|lb|kg}} of Tovex Blastrite Gel sausages, which would in turn set off the configuration of barrels. Of the 13&nbsp;filled barrels, nine contained ammonium nitrate and nitromethane, and four contained a mixture of the fertilizer and about {{convert|4|U.S.gal|impgal L}} of diesel fuel.{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|pp=217–218}} Additional materials and tools used for manufacturing the bomb were left in the truck to be destroyed in the blast.{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|pp=217–218}} After finishing the truck bomb, the two&nbsp;men separated; Nichols returned home to Herington and McVeigh traveled with the truck to Junction City. The bomb cost about {{US$|5000|1993|long=no|round=-3|about=yes}} to make.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://oklahoman.com/article/2580620/prosecutors-add-up-cost-of-bomb-5000 |title=Prosecutors Add up Cost of Bomb: $5,000 |date=May 12, 1997 |work=[[The Oklahoman]] |last1=Clay |first1=Nolan |last2=Owen |first2=Penny |location=[[Denver]] |access-date=2024-01-12 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220507173447/https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/1997/05/12/prosecutors-add-up-cost-of-bomb-5000/62314685007/ |archive-date=2022-05-07}}</ref>