A timeline of the Oklahoma City bombing

 A look at the events on the day of the Oklahoma City bombing and beyond:

April 19, 1995

8:57 A.M.

Normal traffic

A security camera captures an image of a Ryder truck being parked outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.

9:00 A.M.

Day begins

A Water Resources Board meeting begins in a neighboring building. An audio tape captures the sounds of the blast a couple minutes after the meeting began.

9:02 A.M.

Deadly blast

McVeigh drives into downtown Oklahoma City and ignites a massive fertilizer bomb. The blast rips apart the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, killing 168 people.

9:22 A.M.

Another bomb

Police bomb squad dispatched to Robert S. Kerr and Robinson to investigate a suspicious briefcase.

9:30 A.M.

Treating the victims

Triage established at 6th and Robinson.

10:15 A.M.

Blood drive begins

Blood drive started at Tinker Air Force Base by base hospital and Oklahoma Blood Institute.

10:17 A.M.

McVeigh stopped

A state trooper stops McVeigh 78 miles north of Oklahoma City because his car is missing its tag. McVeigh is jailed for concealing a loaded handgun underneath his jacket.

10:28 A.M.

Another evacuation

Fear of a second bomb causes the blast site to be evacuated.

10:34 A.M.

New triage

Triage moved to NW 3 and Harvey.

10:35 A.M.

DOD brings equipment

Department of Defense provides bomb-sniffing dogs, surgeons, equipment, medivac aircraft and body bags.

2 P.M.

Rescue materials sought

Tinker receives request for all cots, blankets, sleeping bags, tents, and associated materials to support long-term seach and rescue.

10:35 P.M.

Emergency declared

President Clinton signs an Emergency Declaration.

April 20, 1995

The FBI releases sketches of 2 suspects.

Authorities say the suspects may have rented the bomb truck. The sketches are dubbed "John Doe No. 1" and "John Doe No. 2."

McVeigh arrested

FBI agents arrest McVeigh in jail in Perry for the bombing. A crowd outside the Noble County Courthouse boos as he walks out stone-faced.

Nichols questioned

Terry Nichols hears his name on news coverage about the bombing and goes to the police in Herington with his wife and daughter. FBI agents question him there for hours. "In my eyes, I did not do anything wrong but I can see how lawyers can turn stuff around." he tells agents. "I did not know anything."

April 22, 1995

Nichols arrested

Nichols is arrested, at first as a material witness. At his first court hearing, he tells a Kansas judge, "It?s all a jumble in my brain right now."

April 23, 1995

Prayer service

President Clinton attends a prayer service in Oklahoma City. "My fellow Americans, a tree takes a long time to grow and wounds take a long time to heal, but we must begin," Clinton says. 'Those who are lost now belong to God.'

May 23, 1995

Demolition

At 7:01 a.m., 150 pounds of charges set by demolition experts cracked the warm air, collapsing what remained of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.

June 14, 1995

ID clarified

Justice Department announces the man depicted in "John Doe No. 2" sketch has been identified and had nothing to do with the bombing. Prosecutors later say he was an army private who helped a friend rent a truck a day after the bomb truck was picked up.

August 10, 1995

Two indicted

A federal grand jury in Oklahoma City indicts McVeigh and Nichols on 11 felony counts that blame them for the bombing and the deaths of eight federal agents. The grand jury says McVeigh and Nichols conspired "with others unknown."

Fortier guilty

The grand jury indicts Michael Fortier for four crimes. Fortier pleads guilty in Oklahoma City federal court. Fortier admits that he failed to warn anyone of the bomb plot and lied to FBI agents after the attack. He also admits he helped McVeigh move and sell stolen guns. He begins time in custody.

December 1, 1995

Judge removed

Oklahoma City federal Judge Wayne E. Alley is taken off the case by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

December 4, 1995

Matsch assigned

U.S. District Judge Richard P. Matsch of Denver is assigned to take over bombing case.

February 20, 1996

Trial moved

The new judge moves the case to Denver, ruling the defendants cannot get a fair trial in Oklahoma. They have been demonized, Matsch rules.

October 25, 1996

Separate trials

Separate trials are ordered.

February 28, 1997

Report: Confession

The Dallas Morning News reports that McVeigh confessed to the bombing in defense interviews. The report touches off a furor.

March 17, 1997

No delay

The judge refuses to delay the trial, ruling jurors will be fair-minded even if exposed to news stories reporting McVeigh confessed.

March 31, 1997

Trial begins

McVeigh's trial begins, with jury selection.

June 2, 1997

McVeigh guilty

Jurors find McVeigh guilty on all counts. He is convicted of the bombing, the bomb plot and the first-degree murder of eight federal agents. Hundreds gather outside the courthouse to applaud the jury's verdict.

June 13, 1997

McVeigh gets death

Jurors choose a death sentence as McVeigh?s punishment. "We asked ourselves, 'Why, why would somebody do this?' and we never could come to an answer," juror Vera Chubb said.

August 14, 1997

McVeigh sentenced

McVeigh is formally sentenced, lashing out at the federal government by saying "for good or for ill, it teaches the whole people by its example."

September 29, 1997

Trial begins

Nichols' federal trial begins with jury selection.

December 23, 1997

Nichols convicted

Nichols is convicted of the bombing conspiracy but acquitted of any direct blame for the attack. Jurors also finds him guilty of involuntary manslaughter instead of murder for the deaths of eight federal agents.

January 7, 1998

Spared death

The federal trial ends. Jurors can't agree on punishment, a deadlock that spares Nichols from execution in his federal case.

March 23, 1998

Nichols' letter

Nichols denies wrongdoing in a letter sent to Matsch. "I would not do a horrible thing such as a terrorist bombing," he wrote.

May 27, 1998

Fortier sentenced

Fortier is sentenced in Oklahoma City to 12 years in prison and fined $200,000. "I was terribly wrong," he told Kansas federal Judge G. Thomas Van Bebber, who chose the punishment. "I deeply regret not taking the information I had to the police.... I sometimes daydream that I did do this and became a hero, but reality is that I am not."

June 4, 1998

Nichols sentenced

Matsch sentences Nichols to life in prison without the possibility of release. The judge calls Nichols "an enemy of the Constitution."

December 30, 1998

No new suspects

An Oklahoma County grand jury investigating other theories about the bombing wraps up without naming any new suspects.

March 8, 1999

Appeal lost

McVeigh loses his appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

March 29, 1999

State brings charges

Nichols is charged at the state level in Oklahoma. Prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty.

June 11, 1999

Hoffman indicted

David Hoffman, the only person indicted by the grand jury investigating the Oklahoma City bombing, pleaded guilty and received a suspended sentence and 200 hours of community service. He admitted sending one of the alternate grand jurors a letter copy of book on conspiracy theories about the bombing.

June 30, 1999

Appeal won

Fortier wins his appeal of his sentence. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules the judge used excessively strict sentencing guidelines.

October 8, 1999

Resentenced

Fortier is resentenced to the same time in prison - 12 years. His new fine is $75,000.

October 12, 1999

Appeal rejected

The U.S. Supreme Court rejects Nichols' first appeal. He eventually loses all his federal appeals.

January 30-31, 2000

Nichols moved

Nichols is moved to the Oklahoma County jail from a federal prison in Colorado.

October 16, 2000

Macy removed

Oklahoma County District Attorney Bob Macy is removed from the Nichols case for improper comments to the media.

December 12, 2000

Execution requested

McVeigh asks to be executed, giving up on his appeals.

March 21, 2001

Motion dismissed

A judge denies defense motion to dismiss Nichols' state charge, ruling it does not violate "double jeopardy" rights against being tried twice for same offense.

April 10, 2001

No apology

McVeigh meets with his father for the last time and refuses again to say he is sorry. "Dad, if I did, I wouldn't be telling the truth," he said.

May 11, 2001

Execution postponed

Ashcroft postpones execution until June 11.

June 11, 2001

McVeigh is executed

McVeigh is executed at the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Ind.

September 5, 2001

New district attorney

Wes Lane announces the state case will go forward, in part because victims worry Nichols might win his federal appeals. "I will not roll the dice on this issue. There is simply too much at stake," Lane said.

September 11, 2001

9/11

Twenty minutes after the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, a bomb truck was stationed in downtown Oklahoma City. An Oklahoma County Sheriff's Department command post was activated where Terry Nichols was being held.

October 15, 2001

Fortier refused

U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Fortier's complaints about his second sentencing.

October 28, 2002

Court clears way

The state Supreme Court clears the way for Nichols' state case to resume by resolving a dispute over defense funding.

January 21, 2003

Emotions resurface

Raw emotions that had been put away with 1994 and 1995 tax returns surfaced again for some surviving spouses and representatives of the Oklahoma City bombing victims when the IRS offered a special tax claim worth at least $10,000. To get the money, old tax returns had to be located and refiled.

May 5-14, 2003

Hearing held

Nichols' long-delayed preliminary hearing is held. Judge Allen McCall concludes the evidence is sufficient for a trial.

September 8, 2003

Trial moves to McAlester

Judge Steven Taylor rules the state trial will be held in McAlester.

February 17, 2004

Plea offer rejected

Nichols reveals he is willing to plead no contest. Prosecutors respond that is unacceptable.

March 1, 2004

Trial begins

The state trial begins with jury selection.

May 26, 2004

Nichols guilty

Nichols is found guilty on all counts - 161 of first-degree murder, one of first-degree arson and one of conspiracy to commit arson.

June 11, 2004

Jurors deadlock

Jurors deadlock on punishment after three days of deliberations. They are stuck at 8-4, then 7-5, for death. The deadlock spares Nichols, again, from a death sentence.

August 9, 2004

Nichols sentenced

Nichols is formally sentenced for the murders in the state bombing Judge Steven Taylor imposes consecutive sentences of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

August 19, 2004

No appeal

Nichols does not appeal his state conviction, letting deadline to begin pass.

August 24, 2004

Nichols returned to Colorado

Nichols is returned by plane to federal prison in Colorado to serve his federal sentence.

November 28, 2004

A secret plea

The Oklahoman reveals that Nichols had confessed during secret plea negotiations in 2003.