Q: What were you doing when the Oklahoma City bombing occurred?
A: I remember it was 9:02 am and I was in keyboarding class. All of the computers suddenly flashed and went off, it felt like an earthquake.
Q: How far away from Oklahoma City were you?
A: I was in Warr Acres at Putnam City High school which was about 17 mi. from Oklahoma City.
Q: What were some of your thoughts as you felt the shaking of the school building?
A: I was confused because earthquakes didn’t ever happen in Oklahoma. Then when the shaking stopped we all went back to normal. Then about a half hour later the principal came over the intercom and asked students who had parents working in Oklahoma City to come to his office.
Q: Did you assume the principal’s direction to come to his office was related to the shaking you felt?
A: Some idea, yeah. The teachers had been receiving calls and were looking nervous so I was uneasy.
Q: What did the principal say when you arrived in his office?
A: He said there had been an explosion downtown Oklahoma City and that if kids wanted to try calling their parents they could use his phone. I couldn’t reach my mom and I started crying then because I was getting really scared.
Q: Was your mom injured?
A: No she wasn’t. I wasn’t able to reach her because phone lines were down due to the blast. I was finally able to reach her later that evening at about 6 p.m.
Q: What happened next?
A: I went back to my keyboarding classroom and the teachers were all turning on the news. At first everyone thought it was a gas line bursting that caused the explosion, and then as more news became available they realized it had been a deliberate act of terrorism.
Q: Do you know how many people died and were injured during the bombing?
A: 168 people died, 19 of which were children at a daycare center. I believe over 600 people were injured. It was awful.
Q: Do you have anything else to add?
A: The student council at my high school posted that they needed blood donors and volunteers to help at the journalism building- which was directly across from ground zero-to gather hard copies and other equipment that was laying around. Some students, including myself, went there to help. In the process of recovering those items my group found clothing and little kid’s shoes in the debris. It was really horrible to see.
Interviewer: I appreciate your talking to me today and thank you for your firsthand look into this disaster.
Melinda: You’re welcome.
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