Southwest
Oklahoma City bombing: FBI agent reflects on response to attack 29 years later
Nearly 30 years ago, Ret. FBI Special Agent Barry Black responded to the worst homegrown terrorist attack in U.S. history with just a year of experience as a bomb technician under his belt.
Black was one of two FBI bomb techs in the entire state of Oklahoma, including Jim Norman, when he arrived at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, which housed offices for approximately 500 government employees, around 9:30 on April 19, 1995. Nearly half an hour earlier, at 9:02, ex-Army soldier Timothy McVeigh ignited a bomb that took a third of the nine-floor building, killing 168 victims.
“It was horrific and chaotic. The scope and magnitude of the destruction was something like I had never seen before,” Black told Fox News Digital of his memories of the attack 29 years later. “{I’ve] sadly seen similar since. But other than the first World Trade Center attack, the U.S. had not seen an attack like this.”
Black’s responsibility as a bomb tech was to “assess the scene,” he said.
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Ret. FBI Special Agent Barry Black remembers what it was like to respond to the Oklahoma City bombing 29 years later. (FBI)
“We were told maybe it was an airplane crash or a gas main explosion. Clearly it was not. And … the scale was something that few had seen in this country,” the former special agent said.
The explosion registered a 6.0 on the Richter scale and was felt an estimated 55 miles from the scene, according to the Justice Department. It left cars upturned and damaged more than 320 nearby buildings.
The explosion registered a 6.0 on the Richter scale, according to the Justice Department. (FBI)
Among the 168 who perished in the attack, 19 were children, as the Murrah building housed a daycare on the second floor. The last of the deceased was a nurse who had been responding to the emergency when a piece of falling debris struck and killed her.
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Black went into the building every week to pick up a paper paycheck. The tellers who handed him that paycheck every week “were all killed,” Black recalled.
Among the 168 who perished in the attack, 19 were children. (Joe Raedle)
His wife, a federal probation officer, was also in the building that morning, but she drove out at 9 a.m., two minutes before the explosion.
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“I have been to a number of these catastrophic events. What makes this a little different is: this was in my backyard. These were people I knew. My wife was in the building. At 9:00, she drove out — two minutes before the detonation — and it was about an hour and a half before I knew she was OK,” Black recalled.
When he arrived, “the devastation was overwhelming,” he said.
Ret. FBI Special Agent Barry Black said “the devastation was overwhelming” at the scene of the Oklahoma City bombing. (FBI)
“But as I did what we call the initial survey — kind of a walkabout to try to assess the damage and get a handle on what may or may not have occurred — I asked some of the security people … if they’d seen my wife, and I recall one specifically said, ‘Yep, I’ve seen her and she’s fine.’ Well, that sort of freed me up. He later told me that he had not. He just thought I needed to hear that she was OK. So, good, bad or indifferent, that’s what he told me. And it took a little of the load off.”
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While sorting through rubble for evidence a day after the attack, investigators came across the rear axle of a Ryder rental truck used to detonate the bomb with an identification number on it.
While sorting through rubble for evidence a day after the attack, investigators came across the rear axle of a Ryder rental truck used to detonate the bomb with an identification number on it. (FBI)
“That morning, a reserve deputy called myself and the other bomb tech, Jim Norman, to that rear … axle, and he wiped away some grease, and we wrote down that CBI and then physically gave it to a runner who … took it to the command post,” Black recalled.
From there, investigators were able to track down the fake name McVeigh used to rent the vehicle, and employees at the rental shop were able to help investigators put together a composite sketch of their suspect. Once the sketch was released to the public, a hotel employee in Junction City, Kansas, identified the suspect as 27-year-old McVeigh.
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Authorities were able to identify Timothy McVeigh just 54 hours after the Oklahoma City bombing thanks to a composite sketch. (FBI)
By April 21, authorities learned McVeigh was already in jail after a state trooper pulled him over about 80 miles north of Oklahoma City, just 90 minutes after the bombing, for a missing license plate, according to the FBI. He had a concealed weapon on him at the time and was detained.
Later on, federal agents found evidence of the chemicals used for the bomb on McVeigh’s clothing and a business card on which he had written, “TNT @ $5/stick, need more,” according to the FBI. Authorities also arrested Terry Nichols, who helped McVeigh make the deadly bomb.
Federal agents found evidence of the chemicals used for the bomb on McVeigh’s clothing and a business card on which he had written, “TNT @ $5/stick, need more,” according to the FBI. (FBI)
Following 28,000 interviews that were conducted across the world, investigators were able to piece together McVeigh’s and Nichols’ motives for the horrific act: They were angry about the April 19, 1993, Waco siege, as well as the August 1992 siege at Ruby Ridge, according to the FBI and DOJ.
“I’m confident we know his motivation. It was intended to be the first blow in an upheaval and overthrow of the federal government,” Black said. “Intent is one of those things that’s intangible but required to prove. So there was a great deal of time spent looking into why he would do this. And the same is true whether it’s domestic or international terrorism. But his motivation was proven clearly.”
Black said lessons from the FBI’s investigation into the Oklahoma City bombing are still relevant today, (ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP)
Black said lessons from the FBI’s investigation into the Oklahoma City bombing are still relevant today, and those lessons are part of what he teaches as a professor at the University of Central Oklahoma Forensic Science Institute.
“There are specific things we would look for on scene, like parts of the bomb, parts of the vehicle that carried the bomb. And that information needs to get relayed quickly to the command post so that the larger, broader external investigation can begin. And that’s how we had McVeigh and Nichols in custody in about 54 hours after detonation,” Black explained. “It was a massive undertaking with law enforcement work[ing] very, very well together.”
McVeigh was executed in 2001 at age 33.
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Southwest
Texas requires students learn about ‘perils of communism’ in sweeping new curriculum overhaul
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A rewrite of Texas’ social studies curriculum will require educators to teach students about the perils of communism, according to a recent report.
“The new framework, known as the ‘comprehensive’ model, introduces a novel chronological approach to history and signals that the process will result in drastically different new standards,” the Houston Chronicle reported.
Set to take effect in the fall of 2030, “the model, favored by conservatives on the board, boosts the proportion of Texas history, and removes standalone world cultures courses,” the piece said.
“Third grade will now begin with ‘birth of Western civilizations’ and eighth grade will become a Texas history-only capstone course.”
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A rewrite of Texas’ social studies curriculum will require educators to teach students about the perils of communism, according to a recent report. (fstop123/iStock via Getty Images Plus)
The State Board of Education approved the Social Studies plan by a vote of 8-7 in September.
Under the revised standards, the curriculum will focus more on Texas history and U.S. history rather than world history and cultures.
The Houston Chronicle reported that Democrats on the board raised concerns about the changes.
“Democrats on the board say the new framework reduces representation, will be more difficult for teachers to explain and delays lessons about nonwhite people to later grades,” the piece said.
“Looking at this storytelling thing, when do people that look like me get to learn about themselves before the fifth grade?” Staci Childs, D-Houston, was quoted as saying in the article, speaking about herself and other Black or Hispanic members of the board.
The Houston Chronicle also reported, “The standards are also being revised to align with recently-passed state law that requires students to be taught about the perils of communism.”
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Under the revised standards, the curriculum will focus more on Texas history and U.S. history rather than world history and cultures. (Fox News/Paul Steinhauser)
In the revised framework, according to the report, “Students must learn about ‘atrocities attributable to communist regimes,’ including the Cambodian genocide, guerrilla movements in Latin America and the ‘oppression and suffering experienced by people living under communist regimes.’ The lessons must also touch on modern threats posed to the U.S. and its allies by communist regimes and ideologies.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the Texas State Board of Education; Rep. Aaron Kinsey, R-Midland, chair of the Texas State Board of Education; and Childs for comment.
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State Democrats raised concerns about the new curriculum, with one state lawmaker saying it reduces representation of Black and Hispanic Texans. (Getty)
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Southwest
San Antonio teen who vanished Christmas Eve found dead by suicide in nearby field after days-long search
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This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Texas authorities confirmed on Thursday a missing San Antonio teen who vanished on Christmas Eve took her own life.
Camila Mendoza Olmos, 19, was last seen alive at about 7 a.m. on Dec. 24, walking a few blocks from her home.
Olmos’ body was found Tuesday in a field just a few hundred yards from her home, next to a gun, according to a report from affiliate FOX 7 Austin.
Officials confirmed they found the body of Camila Mendoza Olmos, who went missing on Christmas Eve. (Help Find Camila Mendoza Olmos via Facebook)
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The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the body as Olmos on Wednesday, determining the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head and ruling the manner of death a suicide, according to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office previously said Olmos had a history of suicidal ideation and depression, noting there were no signs of foul play.
Camila Olmos was reported missing on Christmas Eve morning. (Bexar County Sheriff)
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The body appeared to have been in the location where it was found for several days, according to authorities.
In a Facebook post Wednesday afternoon, family members thanked the community for their support.
“In the name of the Olmos family, we want to give a humble and heartfelt thank you to all the news reporters, churches, friends, families, and communities for your support and prayers,” Nancy Olmos wrote in the post. “Our beloved Camila Mendoza Olmos is now with the Good Lord.”
Camila Mendoza Olmos’ manner of death was ruled a suicide, according to officials. (Help Find Camila Mendoza Olmos via Facebook)
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“We kindly ask that you please respect our pain and, most importantly, keep my cousin Rosario—Camila’s mom—and my nephew Carlos—Camila’s brother—in your prayers during this incredibly difficult time,” she added. “Thank you, and God bless you all.”
Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
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Southwest
University of Oklahoma teaching assistant fired after flunking Christian student files appeal with school
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A University of Oklahoma graduate teaching assistant who was fired after flunking a Christian student who cited the Bible in an essay, causing a national uproar, is appealing the school’s decision.
Brittany Stewart, a self-employed and self-described civil rights lawyer, said she is representing William “Mel” Curth, who assessed student Samantha Fulnecky a zero out of 25 on an assignment about gender norms.
“Today, my client, Mel Curth, submitted her appeal of the University’s Institutional Equity Office finding that she engaged in arbitrary and capricious grading of a student’s assignment in violation of that student’s religious liberty,” Stewart said on Bluesky earlier this week.
OU student Samantha Fulnecky, with her Bible, in the Oklahoma Memorial Union, Monday, Nov. 24, 2025. (Doug Hoke/The Oklahoman/Imagn Images)
“Ms. Curth fully denies that she engaged in any discriminatory behavior,” the statement continues. “It is her position that the investigation was flawed, failed to consider all possible motives and issues, and that new evidence has come to light that undermines the investigation’s conclusion.”
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Stewart did not specify what the new evidence is.
For the assignment, Curth, who uses she/they pronouns, asked students to read a short paper called, “Relations Among Gender Typicality, Peer Relations, and Mental Health During Early Adolescence,” which discusses results of a study about gender norms among middle schoolers and the social ramifications children may face if they don’t conform to gender norms.
The students were instructed to provide a “thoughtful discussion of some aspect of the article.”
Fulnecky, a junior at the school, responded by saying she thought gender norms should not be viewed as stereotypes. She cited Genesis, the first book of the Bible, in which God created men and women equally, but with separate purposes.
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Students walk on campus between classes at the University of Oklahoma on March 11, 2015, in Norman, Oklahoma. (Brett Deering/Getty Images)
“Gender roles and tendencies should not be considered ‘stereotypes,’” Fulnecky wrote in her essay. “Women naturally want to do womanly things because God created us with those womanly desires in our hearts. The same goes for men. God created men in the image of His courage and strength, and He created women in the image of His beauty. He intentionally created women differently than men and we should live our lives with that in mind.”
She later described the normalization of non-binary gender as “demonic.”
Curth took exception to Fulnecky’s response.
“Please note that I am not deducting points because you have certain beliefs, but instead I am deducting point [sic] for you posting a reaction paper that does not answer the questions for this assignment, contradicts itself, heavily uses personal ideology over empirical evidence in a scientific class, and is at times offensive,” Curth’s explanation for the grade said, later adding that the essay was “offensive” and claiming that science backs the idea that “gender is neither binary nor fixed.”
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There were three grading criteria, according to Fulnecky, who said none of those criteria listed empirical evidence as a requirement.
“Does the paper show a clear tie-in to the assigned article?” was the first, worth up to 10 out of the assignment’s 25 total points.
“Does the paper present a thoughtful reaction or response to the article, rather than a summary?” was the second, also worth up to 10 points.
“Is the paper clearly written?” was the last criterion, worth up to five points.
OU student Samantha Fulnecky, with her Bible, in the Oklahoma Memorial Union, Monday, Nov. 24, 2025. (Doug Hoke/The Oklahoman/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
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Fulnecky filed an official religious discrimination complaint with the school after receiving the zero grade, and Curth was put on administrative leave pending an investigation.
On Dec. 22, the University of Oklahoma released a statement saying Curth had been fired.
“Based on an examination of the graduate teaching assistant’s prior grading standards and patterns, as well as the graduate teaching assistant’s own statements related to this matter, it was determined that the graduate teaching assistant was arbitrary in the grading of this specific paper,” the school said. “The graduate teaching assistant will no longer have instructional duties at the University.”
Stewart said in her statement that Fulnecky had an ulterior political motive for challenging the grade, and slammed the university for making public statements while she said Curth is bound by “confidentiality rules.”
“Rather than engaging in discrimination, Mel Curth has been the target of a political movement that seeks to silence and/or oust LGBTQ people from academia,” Stewart’s statement concludes. “Ms. Curth will continue to fight back against these harmful allegations.”
A University of Oklahoma campus sign is pictured in Norman, Oklahoma, on Dec. 1, 2024. (Kirby Lee/Getty Images)
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Fox News Digital reached out to Stewart and the University of Oklahoma for comment.
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