The daycare inside the Oklahoma City bombing was America’s Kids, a child development center on the second floor of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. When Timothy McVeigh’s truck bomb detonated at 9:02 a.m. on April 19, 1995, the daycare took a direct hit. Fifteen of the 21 children present were killed, along with three daycare workers and a delivery person. Six children survived, all with severe injuries. The deaths of those children — most of them infants and toddlers — became the emotional center of the attack and drove sweeping changes to how the federal government secures its own buildings.
America’s Kids and the Morning of April 19
The center was owned by Melva Noakes, who had opened it inside the Murrah Building just three weeks before the bombing. Its director, Dana LeAnne Cooper, was 24 and had started in the role on March 27, 1995. She and her two-year-old son, Anthony Christopher Cooper II, were both killed. Her husband had dropped them off that morning; Dana had been planning to fly to San Francisco later that day for a daycare conference.1Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum. Dana LeAnne Cooper
The two other workers who died were Wanda Lee Howell and Brenda Faye Daniels. Noakes later recounted that 9:00 a.m. was “bible time” at the center, and that Howell was found with a bible and a child in her lap.2News9. Owner of Daycare Inside Murrah Building Remembers OKC Bombing
The Children Who Died
Nineteen children were killed in the bombing overall; 15 of them were in America’s Kids. The youngest victim of the entire attack was three months old. Three sets of siblings were among the children killed, and some died alongside parents or grandparents who worked in the building.3KFOR Oklahoma City. A Mother’s Journey of Faith After Losing Her Sons in Oklahoma City Bombing
Among the identified daycare victims were Chase Dalton Smith, age 3, and his brother Colton Wade Smith, age 2; Baylee Almon, who had celebrated her first birthday the day before; brothers Aaron and Elijah Coverdale; and Anthony Christopher Cooper II. Tevin D’Aundrae Garrett, 16 months old, was singled out by lead prosecutor Joseph Hartzler in his opening statement at McVeigh’s trial, walking the jury through the toddler’s last ordinary morning to make the scale of the crime concrete.4Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum. Those Who Were Killed5Famous Trials. Oklahoma City Bombing Trial
The Six Survivors
Six children were pulled alive from the daycare wreckage. The press came to call them the “miracle babies.” All suffered severe injuries. Several grew up together and attended the same Oklahoma City high school.6Eglin Air Force Base. 30 Years Later: Youngest OKC Bombing Victim Gives Back Through Civil Service
PJ Allen was 18 months old, the youngest child in the daycare. He sustained second- and third-degree burns over more than half his body, a collapsed lung, a dislocated shoulder, severe head trauma, and permanent vocal cord damage from a tracheotomy he needed until age 11. As of 2025 he is 31 and works as an avionics specialist at Tinker Air Force Base, a form of civil service he pursued because his injuries made military, fire, or police careers impossible.7KTUL. Oklahoma City Bombing Impact on Children: Growing Up With Loss8KOCO. OKC Bombing Survivor PJ Allen: Baby Calling 30 Years Later
Brandon Denny was the most critically injured. He spent 45 days in intensive care, then 55 days in rehabilitation, then returned to the ICU for another 26 days after a brain infection. He had four major brain surgeries and another to insert a plate in his skull. Doctors removed a damaged portion of his brain, leaving him with impaired movement and speech on his right side. His father quit his job as a shop foreman to become his full-time caregiver. Brandon now works at a Goodwill distribution center.9Seattle Times. Life Goes On for Young Survivors of Oklahoma City Bombing10People. Where Are Oklahoma City Bombing Survivors’ Children Now
Rebecca Denny, now Rebecca Muniz, is Brandon’s sister and was two years old at the time. She bears scars and still carries a piece of glass in her hand from the blast. She has spoken publicly about depression and survivor’s guilt, and stopped doing media interviews in college to distance herself from the “survivor” label. She has said she chose to forgive McVeigh “because I don’t want to grow up angry,” and has described a genuine fear of placing her own son in daycare.11PBS. Life After Oklahoma City: Rebecca Muniz
Chris Nguyen was pulled from the rubble with brain trauma, a broken jaw, and ruptured eardrums. As of 2015 he was 25 and working in guest relations for the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder. Joseph Webb, 20 months old, sustained a facial scar and later studied zoology at Oklahoma State University. Nekia McCloud suffered brain damage and, as of 2015, was employed at the Dale Rogers Training Center, which provides employment services for people with disabilities.12Reuters. Oklahoma City Bombing’s ‘Miracle Babies’ Ready to Move On
The Photograph of Baylee Almon
An amateur photographer captured the image that defined the bombing for the world: firefighter Chris Fields cradling the body of one-year-old Baylee Almon as he carried her from the rubble. The photograph ran on front pages globally and won a Pulitzer Prize.13Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum. Miss Baylee Almon Fields later described the moment he realized the infant was gone: “This is somebody’s world just getting ready to be totally undone.”14Today. Oklahoma City Firefighter Holding Baby in Iconic Photo Retires
Fields struggled with post-traumatic stress for years. He eventually formed a close bond with Baylee’s mother, Aren Almon-Kok, who told him she could see by the way he held her daughter that he was a father himself. He retired from the Oklahoma City Fire Department after more than 31 years.15ABC News. Oklahoma City Bombing 25 Years: A Picture of Pain
Did McVeigh Know About the Daycare
Whether McVeigh knew there was a daycare in the Murrah Building became a central question at trial and after. In his authorized biography, American Terrorist, McVeigh told authors Lou Michel and Dan Herbeck he had not known there was “an entire day-care center” in the building, though he acknowledged he recognized “someone might be bringing their kid to work.” He added: “However, if I had known there was an entire day care center, it might have given me pause to switch targets. That’s a large amount of collateral damage.”16Los Angeles Times. McVeigh Book Details Bomber’s Mindset
The authors reported that McVeigh’s only regret about the children’s deaths was that they created a public relations problem, dampening the anti-government reaction he had hoped to provoke. He expressed no sympathy for the victims. FBI lead investigator Danny Defenbaugh said he had “no doubt” McVeigh knew children would be among those killed. In an earlier conversation with his friend Michael Fortier, McVeigh had compared the building’s occupants to “storm troopers in Star Wars,” individually innocent but “guilty by association.” Reports surfaced during trial proceedings that McVeigh told defense investigators he had intentionally timed the bombing during the workday to maximize casualties.17The Guardian. McVeigh Describes Children’s Deaths as ‘Collateral Damage’5Famous Trials. Oklahoma City Bombing Trial
Lawsuits Against the Daycare Owner
Parents of children killed in the bombing filed lawsuits against Melva Noakes, alleging she had kept the daycare open on April 19 despite knowing it was a “terrorist day,” a reference to the second anniversary of the federal siege at Waco, Texas. Noakes responded that the decision was not hers to make: “When you have a contract with the federal government they tell you when to shut the doors and lock the doors. It’s not something you can control.” After three years of litigation, a judge dismissed all the cases against her.2News9. Owner of Daycare Inside Murrah Building Remembers OKC Bombing
On the morning of the bombing, Noakes had been at a second daycare facility she owned in Choctaw, Oklahoma, when her daughter called to tell her about the explosion. She went on to write a book about the experience, April Mourning, and as of 2015 was working as a caregiver for patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
What Changed for Federal Daycare Security
The deaths of the daycare children forced an uncomfortable reckoning. Before the bombing, the DOJ’s own post-attack report acknowledged, security had not been a priority in federal building design, and “tight security was seen as inconsistent with the accessibility associated with high service levels.”18Department of Justice. Vulnerability Assessment of Federal Facilities The Murrah Building was classified as a Level IV facility, meaning high-risk, yet it had housed a daycare on its second floor with little consideration of the security implications.
On June 28, 1995, the DOJ released its Vulnerability Assessment of Federal Facilities, establishing 52 minimum security standards for federal buildings. The report included specific recommendations for daycare centers, directing agencies to evaluate whether it was appropriate to locate childcare in buildings with high-threat activities and to study the feasibility of moving daycare to lower-risk facilities.19Department of Justice. Vulnerability Assessment of Federal Facilities20Federation of American Scientists. Minimum Security Standards for Federal Facilities
In October 1995, President Clinton signed Executive Order 12977, creating the Interagency Security Committee, chaired by the GSA, to set ongoing security policy for federal buildings. By March 1998, the GSA had spent approximately $353 million from the Federal Buildings Fund on upgrades including concrete barriers, security cameras, and metal detectors.21U.S. Government Accountability Office. Security of Federal Facilities The ISC later developed a Child-Care Centers Level of Protection Template, which sets minimum security requirements for daycare facilities based on a building’s assessed risk level.22GSA Office of Inspector General. Audit of Child Care Center Security in GSA-Controlled Space
Aren Almon-Kok pushed for further disclosure. She lobbied for proposed legislation called “Baylee’s Law,” which would have required the General Services Administration to disclose a building’s security classification and any known threats to parents using on-site daycare. The law, she said, would not have changed her own decision to use the Murrah Building’s daycare, but it would have given her a “complete picture” and alerted her that the building was considered high-risk.23KTUL/Newson6. Mother of Bombing Victim Seeks More Disclosure on Daycare Centers
Whether the reforms have actually been implemented is another matter. A January 2020 audit by the GSA Inspector General found that 11 tested child care centers in federal buildings had “significant” security vulnerabilities and failed to meet the minimum standards. The report blamed a persistent lack of funding, pointing to a repair and renovation backlog approaching $7 billion. The Inspector General recommended that if the GSA could not address the vulnerabilities, the childcare centers should be relocated to safer locations.24Federal Times. Tight Budgets Endanger Child Care Centers in Federal Buildings22GSA Office of Inspector General. Audit of Child Care Center Security in GSA-Controlled Space
Where the Daycare Victims Are Remembered
The Oklahoma City National Memorial now stands on the ground where the Murrah Building once stood. Its central feature is the Field of Empty Chairs: 168 bronze and glass chairs arranged in nine rows, one for each floor of the building, representing each person who was killed. Nineteen of the chairs are noticeably smaller than the rest, one for each child.25Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum. The Memorial
At the 30th anniversary ceremony on April 19, 2025, more than 1,600 people gathered at First Church in Oklahoma City after weather forced the event indoors. Family members and survivors read the names of all 168 victims, followed by 168 seconds of silence. Outside at the memorial, families placed flowers and personal mementos on the small chairs bearing their children’s names.26Newson6. OKC Memorial’s Field of Empty Chairs Tells 168 Stories of Loss