Early Life of Timothy McVeigh

Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber, was born on April 23, 1968, in Lockport, New York, to William and Mildred McVeigh. McVeigh Snr worked in a radiator plant as a factory worker. Patty and Jennifer McVeigh were McVeigh’s sisters. McVeigh’s parents obtained a legal separation when he was nine years old (1979). He stayed in Pendleton, New York, with his father, while his mother and sisters relocated to Florida. His parents reconciled and separated a few more times before divorcing in 1986.

McVeigh enjoyed guns and used to practice target shooting with his grandfather, Edward McVeigh. At some point, he requested a novel by William Pierce, a former American Nazi Party member who wrote under the pen name Andrew McDonald. The plot revolves around a gun enthusiast who bombs a federal government building in protest of restrictions on private firearms.

Timothy McVeigh attended Lockport’s Starpoint Central High School. He then enrolled in a business college but dropped out without receiving a diploma.

Ascend to Fame

Timothy McVeigh did a variety of jobs after dropping out of business school, including working at a fast-food restaurant. McVeigh then enlisted in the United States Army (1988). He completed basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia, before being assigned to the 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kansas. During the 1991 Persian Gulf War, he was involved in armed combat with his division. He was a fantastic shooter who received numerous medals, including the Bronze Star.

McVeigh was also given the option of joining the US Army’s Special Forces, the Green Berets. He quit on the third day because the Green Berets evaluation program was too difficult for him. He then resigned from the United States Army, where he was a sergeant and had served for 43 months.

The Oklahoma City Terrorist Attack

When Timothy McVeigh returned to the United States, he found work as a security guard in Pendleton, New York. Randy Weaver, a white separatist from Ruby Ridge, Idaho, was raided by federal agents who accused him of selling an illegal sawn-off shotgun. Weaver’s wife, son, and a U.S. marshal were killed in the ensuing chaos. McVeigh was vehemently anti-government in the aftermath of this incident. McVeigh left New York in 1993 and began traveling across the country selling survival items and anti-government literature at gun shows.

He went to Waco, Texas, to show his support for the Branch Davidians. The 51-day siege ended on April 10, 1993, with many Branch Davidian members killed. Then, on April 10, 1995, a truck bomb exploded at Oklahoma City’s Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. 168 people were killed, including 19 children, and hundreds more were maimed or injured. A few days after the Oklahoma City bombing, police linked Timothy McVeigh to the attack and arrested him on suspicion of using a weapon of mass destruction.

Conviction, Trial, and Execution

The federal trial of Timothy McVeigh began on April 24, 1997. The jury returned a guilty verdict on June 2, 1997. McVeigh was sentenced to death by a jury on June 13, 1997. In 2000, the federal court rejected McVeigh’s plea on the grounds that his attorney had performed poorly during the trial. McVeigh’s execution date was set for May 16, 2001, by the United States Bureau of Prisons. There was a brief delay of more than a month due to a legal snag involving the FBI’s disclosure of documents, but this was quickly resolved. On June 11, 2011, McVeigh was executed by injection at a prison in Terre Haute, Indiana.

The Quick Fact of Timothy McVeigh

• Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber, was born on April 23, 1968, in Lockport, New York, to William and Mildred McVeigh.
• McVeigh Snr worked in a radiator plant as a factory worker.
• McVeigh enjoyed guns and used to practice target shooting with his grandfather, Edward McVeigh.
• The federal trial of Timothy McVeigh began on April 24, 1997.
• The jury returned a guilty verdict on June 2, 1997.
• McVeigh was sentenced to death by a jury on June 13, 1997.
• In 2000, the federal court rejected McVeigh’s plea on the grounds that his attorney had performed poorly during the trial.
• McVeigh’s execution date was set for May 16, 2001, by the United States Bureau of Prisons.
• There was a brief delay of more than a month due to a legal snag involving the FBI’s disclosure of documents, but this was quickly resolved.
• On June 11, 2011, McVeigh was executed by injection at a prison in Terre Haute, Indiana.