April 18, 1995: Oklahoma City Bombing Suspects Attempt to Get Haircuts

Two men enter a hair salon, Gracie & Company, in Junction City, Kansas, for a haircut. The men will later be identified as “John Doe No. 1” and “John Doe No. 2,” suspects in the Oklahoma City bombing (see 8:35 a.m. - 9:02 a.m. April 19, 1995 and April 20, 1995). Salon owner Kathy Henderson will identify the two to the FBI, and later to the press. One man, “No. 2,” with brown hair and a square jaw, asks for a haircut for both himself and his friend. The other, “No. 1” (later identified as Timothy McVeigh, who will detonate the bomb), has light skin and a crewcut. Henderson will identify the two after seeing the sketches released by the FBI. Henderson turns the two away because, as she will recall, the salon was “all booked up.” She will recall of “No. 2”: “It was strange. He did not need a haircut. He was very well groomed.” In subsequent interviews, Junction City residents will recall seeing McVeigh in several places over the last few weeks, usually in the company of his unidentified friend (see April 15, 1995, 5:00 a.m. April 18, 1995, 8:15 a.m. and After, April 18, 1995, and 8:00 a.m. April 18, 1995). [New York Times, 4/22/1995] This witness identification clashes with the chain of events as laid out by McVeigh and the FBI (see 5:00 a.m. April 18, 1995, 8:15 a.m. and After, April 18, 1995 and Noon and After, April 18, 1995).