22-04-2025
Best-selling authors reflect on the Oklahoma City bombing
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — About 30 years after the Oklahoma City bombing, we look back at the tragedy and WNY's connection to it: the bomber grew up here.
At 9:02 a.m. on April 19, 1995, a bomb exploded at the Murrah Federal Building, killing 168 people, including 19 children. The bomber, Timothy McVeigh, grew up in Pendleton. And in the years following the attack, two Buffalo News reporters would be allowed access to him in federal prison, telling his story.
Authors Dan Herbeck and Lou Michel recorded about 70 hours of audio from their interviews with McVeigh. Michel then witnessed his execution in June of 2001. That same year, the two wrote a best-selling book called 'American Terrorist: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing.'
In an interview with WIVB News 4, Michel and Herbeck explain what led McVeigh to do what he did, his demeanor while they interviewed him and their roles in a new Netflix documentary that portrays the deadliest act of domestic terrorism on U.S. soil.
Kelsey Anderson is an award-winning anchor who came back home to Buffalo in 2018. See more of her work here and follow her on Twitter.
Dave Greber is an award-winning anchor and reporter who has been part of the News 4 team since 2015. See more of his work here.
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