The arrest of Timothy McVeigh began as a routine traffic stop. From the outside looking in, he seemed like a normal guy. Polite. Respectful. Everything a person being stopped with nothing to hide would be.... until Trooper Charles Hanger noticed a bulge in his jacket. Immediately, everything changed... and McVeigh was arrested. Nothing about this situation alerted the officer to believe he was the bombing suspect, in fact, he had absolutely no knowledge of his potential connection to the bombing in Oklahoma City.
Then, someone connected the dots... right in the nick of time.
After the horrific blast at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City a community pulled together and responded immediately. Fireman ran to aid. Policemen rushed on site. Citizens ran into the building to rescue anyone that could be rescued. Freshly inaugurated Governor Frank Keating, minutes from a prayer breakfast began to request help and try to find the best way to rescue and recover...
Almost instantly, you could sense a pulling together of spirits, a working and uniting as one to make something unimaginable and unbelievable tolerable and bearable.
One officer describes it as "organized chaos". The scene was overwhelming... billowing smoke, paper floating, cars on fire, glass glistening, tragic screams and loss of life. But somehow, the community agencies pulled together and worked tirelessly to save lives.
The stories you will hear will not only touch your heart, but they will warm your spirit as you listen to, "The Response".
If you ask a native Oklahoman where they were on April 19th, 1995, most can tell you… within a matter of seconds. The day Oklahoma City’s Alfred P. Murrah building was bombed is a day many Oklahoman’s can’t forget. The city and it’s community will forever be changed. We will always remember the moments before, and the moments after.
The blast was felt for miles around. Billows of smoke in the shape of mushroom clouds hung over the building contrasting with the beautiful blue Oklahoma sky. Dusty air from the cemented clouds emerged from rubble as paper floated in the air. Cars were on fire, glass was glistening against the tarred streets and terror rested on the faces of those that managed to escape the destruction. No one knew what exactly happened and trying to save lives became many persons first and only priority.
Categorized as the worst act of Domestic Terrorism carried out by a U.S. citizen in the History of America on American soil made this catastrophic scene not only a recovery scene… but also, a crime scene. In this episode, you will hear stories and details from first responders like Oklahoma City Police Department’s then Sgt. (Lt.) Bruce Davis, Trey Davis a KTOK reporter, and Jon Hansen, the assistant fire chief.