Born: April 23, 1968

When a bomb exploded in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in 1995, it killed and injured hundreds of innocent victims. The nation was stunned to discover that the attack had not been committed by international terrorists, but by an American whose background was hardly cause for concern.

A scrawny kid fond of guns

Students in McVeigh’s high school referred to their classmate as the school’s “most talkative” student. They were kidding. Raised in a suburb of Buffalo, New York, McVeigh was a quiet boy who kept to himself. His classmates picked on him, calling him “Chicken McVeigh” and “The Wimp.”

By the time he graduated from high school in Pendleton, New York, McVeigh had become obsessed with guns. He lifted weights in order to add muscle to his scrawny physique. And he became increasingly fascinated with extremist...