President clinton the bombing in Oklahoma City was an attack on innocent children and defenseless citizens. It was an act of cowardice and it was evil. The United States will not tolerate it. And i will not allow the people of this country to be intimidated by evil cowards. I have met with our team which we assembled to deal with this bombing, and i have determined to take the following steps to assure the strongest response to this situation. First, i have deployed a Crisis Management team, under the leadership of the fbi, working with the department of justice, the bureau of alcohol, tobacco and firearms, military and local authorities. We are sending the worlds finest investigators to solve these murders. Second, i have declared an emergency in Oklahoma City, and at my direction, james lee witt, the director of the federal Emergency Management agency, is now on his way there to make sure we do everything we can to help the people of oklahoma deal with the tragedy. Third, we are taking every precaution to reassure and to protect people who work in or live near other federal facilities. Let there be no room for doubt. We will find the people who did this. When we do, justice will be swift, certain and severe. These people are killers, and must be treated like killers. Finally, let me say that i ask all americans tonight to pray, to pray for the people who have lost their lives, to pray for the families and the friends of the dead and the wounded, to pray for the people of Oklahoma City. May gods grace be with them. Meanwhile, we will be about our work. Thank you. [inaudible] attorney general reno this has been a tragic and heartbreaking day. I can tell you this. The fbi and the Law Enforcement community will pursue every lead and use every possible resource to bring the people responsible to justice. The fbi has established a command post in Oklahoma City. It is in 24 hour contact with fbi headquarters command post and the department of justice. Four fbi special agents and charge have been dispatched to the scene to provide 24hour operation of the command post. The fbi has sent four evidence Response Teams and explosive ordnance teams to Oklahoma City. Five of the best fbi agents, experienced in this type of investigation, are arriving in Oklahoma City, as have bomb technicians from boston, san francisco, miami, and los angeles. 13 members of the rapidresponse rapidstart team will be entering data as evidence is collected. 50 more agents are available for arrival tomorrow, and more will be used as needed. The fbi and federal Law Enforcement have received superb cooperation from officials in Oklahoma City and federal agencies are working together. The atf has sent two national Response Teams and a mobile command center. It has Laboratory Technicians in Oklahoma City. It is prepared to send a 2025 more personnel tomorrow. The secret service is also sending explosive experts. In addition the oklahoma , National Guard has been deployed to evacuate the area. The u. S. Army deployed the 61st Ordnance Detachment with a robot from fort sill, oklahoma. The Tulsa Police Department has deployed two bomb technicians, two dogs and a robot, and fema is playing a major role in aid and assistance. We cant tell how long it will be before we can say with certainty who is responsible, but we will find the perpetrators and will bring them to justice. Had you put out a bulletin, can you tell us about that . There are reports of descriptions of a couple of people. Attorney general reno what i can say about all evidence and all leads is that it will hinder our investigation, but we are pursuing every shred of evidence available. It sounds from everything you said as if we concluded this was a terrorist attack of some kind. Can you confirm that . Attorney general reno i would not characterize it as such until the evidence it in, but we are pursuing every piece of evidence on whatever motivation behind it. Do you have any statistics on the casualties . Attorney general reno we have some statistics on casualties, but they are increasing at every moment. We are trying to make sure we pursue every lead. What we have been told is that there were 550 people assigned in the building. Only 250 had been accounted for before i came in. There may be as many as 100 to 250 more people to account for. Casualty figures are climbing. 100 victims have been treated. Six children in the Daycare Center have been confirmed as dead. We are pursuing absolutely every lead that we can. Have there been any more threats against other federal buildings . Attorney general reno in a situation like this, there are sometimes terribly misguided, horrible people who create copycat situations. We have responded in each instance, and so far nothing has materialized. Were there any warnings that Something Like this could happen . Reports been attorney general reno i cant comment on any specific lead or any evidence we have developed. The current crime bill the president signed includes the Death Penalty provision. Assuming you do catch these people, will you go for that . Attorney general reno 18 usc section 844 relates to those who maliciously damage or destroy a federal building. If death occurs, the Death Penalty is available. And we will seek it. Any more indication of where the device exploded . Attorney general reno again, that would be commenting on evidence that is being developed. We would not want to do that, because to do so would possibly hinder the investigation. On the importance of this event, are we crossing a new threshold about concern for security in this country, when even Oklahoma City is not safe . Attorney general reno this is a matter of concern for all americans, any you see acts like this around the world. This ou see acts like you see acts like this around the world. It is a matter that has got to be pursued with all vaguer. I cant tell you whether it is a crossroads. I can tell you that anytime Something Like this occurs, we have to do Everything Possible to ensure the people responsible are held accountable, and do everything we can to prevent a future recurrence. What caution would you urge other people who work in federal buildings to take . Attorney general reno we are working with the General Services administration, the United StatesMarshals Service and the fbi to take sensible precautions. And the federal employees who have been involved have just been wonderful. Is this just a coincidence that it happened on the second anniversary of waco . Attorney general reno we are pursuing all leads, we cant tell what happened or who is responsible. It would be better not to comment. Any claim of responsibility . Attorney general reno again, i dont think i should comment on evidence because to do so would hinder the investigation. Was in a car bomb . Attorney general reno again, i cant comment on any evidentiary lead we are pursuing because it would possibly hinder the investigation. If another government or governments are found to be involved, would military retaliation be appropriate and will be carried out . Attorney general reno i dont think we should deal with what ifs. We should make sure those people who are responsible should be pursued and brought to justice. The government of israel has offered help because it has vast experience in this sort of thing. Do you know if we are accepting this help . Attorney general reno we will rely on any additional resource that can be utilized in bringing people to justice. Thank you very much. [indiscernible conversations] attorneyil 21, 1995, general janet reno announced that Timothy Mcveigh had been arrested. She appeared at the justice directort with the fbi louis freemen with reporters to announce the arrest of suspect, Timothy Mcveigh. Attorney general reno director freeh and i have just spoken with the president. Im pleased to announce one of the individuals believed to have been responsible for the attack in Oklahoma City has been arrested. Timothy mcveigh, age 27, whom we previously called john doe number one, the man with a light brown crew cut, was arrested by local authorities on a Traffic Violation 60 miles from Oklahoma City on wednesday morning, about one and a half hours after the explosion occurred. At the time of his arrest, he was in possession of a firearm. He has been in a local jail since the arrest. He will be taken into custody by the fbi. Searches are being planned and executed at several locations around the country this afternoon. I remind everyone that john doe number two remains at large. He should be considered armed and extremely dangerous. There is a strong likelihood that other persons are involved in this tragedy as well