Oklahoma City bombing seen a second suspect, who did not resemble Nichols, with McVeigh. Those who expressed sympathy for McVeigh typically described his deed as an act of war, as in the case of Gore Vidal's essay "The Meaning of Timothy McVeigh". The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) led the official investigation, known as OKBOMB, with Weldon L. Kennedy acting as Special Agent in charge. Kennedy oversaw 900 federal, state, and local law enforcement personnel including 300 FBI agents, 200 officers from the Oklahoma City Police Department, 125 members of the Oklahoma National Guard, and 55 officers from the Oklahoma Department of Public
Timothy McVeigh people he wanted to be a gun shop owner and sometimes took firearms to school to impress his classmates. McVeigh became intensely interested in gun rights, as well as the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, after he graduated from high school, and read magazines such as "Soldier of Fortune". He briefly attended Bryant & Stratton College before dropping out. In May 1988, at the age of 20, McVeigh graduated from the U.S. Army Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia. While in the military, McVeigh used much of his spare time to read about firearms, sniper tactics, and explosives.