President Barack Obama released a statement on Sunday commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, saying that "the passage of time will never extinguish the pain we feel."
"Twenty years ago today in Oklahoma City, two terrorists attacked their own country, killing 168 people and injuring hundreds more. We will never forget the men and women who lost their lives in the bombing that day," Obama said in the statement. "The passing of time will never extinguish the pain we feel. But if those murderers hoped to terrorize the American people that day, to break our spirits or shatter the bonds that unite us, then they completely and utterly failed."
He continued: "We will be forever grateful to the first responders who risked their lives to save others, the law enforcement officers and prosecutors who brought the perpetrators to justice, and the ordinary men and women who set an 'Oklahoma standard' for resilience that we still hold today."
On April 19, 1995, a truck bomb killed 168 people and injured hundreds more when it went off at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in what was at the time the largest terror attack on U.S. soil. Timothy McVeigh, an anti-government militant, was convicted for his role in the attack and executed in 2001. Terry Nichols, a co-conspirator, is currently serving multiple life sentences.
Former President Bill Clinton and Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R) were among those who spoke at a service to commemorate the attack on Sunday. The ceremony included 168 seconds of silence, one for each individual that was killed, The Associated Press reported.
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