There Were 25 Children Involved in the Oklahoma City Bombing — Six of Them Survived

According to the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum, an American elm tree was planted in downtown Oklahoma sometime around 1920. Nearly three decades later, the tree was part of the backyard of an unknown family's house. Aerial pictures taken in 1947 show a mature tree that was the last one standing after the commercial development of a paved parking lot called for the removal of other trees around it.

You might be thinking, who cares about a tree? Well, this particular tree is a survivor. On April 19, 1995, it withstood a horrific blast that took the lives of 168 people. This tragedy would later be known as the Oklahoma City Bombing, the worst homegrown terrorist attack in the United States to date. There were 25 children in the building that was targeted by Timothy McVeigh. Of those, 19 were killed. Like the elm tree, six children survived. Where are they now? Here's what we know.

In March 2025, P.J. Allen, the youngest survivor of the attack, spoke with KOCO about what his life looks like 30 years later. He was only 18 months old when he was dropped off at the daycare center in the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. He suffered from a collapsed lung, third-degree burns, a dislocated arm, and head trauma. "The first few years after the explosion, I was in and out of hospitals a lot," he told the outlet.

Allen still struggles with breathing issues but said he feels grateful that he gets to wake up every day. Not everyone involved in the bombing is as lucky. He works as an airplane technician at Tinker Air Force Base. "Working on planes allows me to help people in service, similar to the people who helped me out on that day," he explained.

In April 2015, Chris Nguyen and his mother spoke with NPR about that horrific day. Phuong Nguyen said that Chris was the third baby brought out of the destruction. She remembered Chris screaming and crying; his face was covered in blood. Chris told his mother in the interview that he had survivor's guilt and put pressure on himself to succeed. Still, he feels lucky. "I wouldn't want to waste this opportunity that they don't have," said Chris.

Brandon Denny and his sister Rebecca were 3 and 2 years old, respectively, on that tragic day and were both in the building. Brandon had the most severe injuries of all the other child survivors. He spent a month in a coma and required four brain surgeries to ensure he would be able to walk and talk. Rebecca was lucky. She got out with a small cut on her cheek from the barrel of explosives in McVeigh's vehicle. In April 2015 when the survivors reunited, she opted to skip the event.

Brandon and Rebecca's mother, Claudia, told People that her daughter "doesn’t want to be remembered just as a bombing victim." At the time, Rebecca was a psychology major at Oklahoma State University and was getting married that summer. After graduating high school in 2011, Brandon got a job at a Goodwill distribution center and was planning on moving out of his parents' house. His dad, Jim, joked that the move would be harder on him than on his son.

Joseph Webb has a scar on his face that people occasionally ask about, per Reuters. When he met up with his fellow survivors, Webb was a zoology major at Oklahoma State University. "If they aren't from here, I explain about the bombing, about Timothy McVeigh and what happened," said Webb, regarding his injury. " I don't mind talking about it, though. I think it's important for people to remember."

Nekia McCloud rarely leaves her mother's side. She suffered brain damage and, on top of that, is a bit shy. When she and her mother Lavern spoke with Reuters in April 2015, McCloud was working at Dale Rogers Training Center, which provides employment training for people with disabilities. For fun, McCloud loves to go bowling and spend time at amusement parks. "Life is good now," said her mother.

FBI agent Danny Defenbaugh told CNN in March 2001 that he believed McVeigh knew there was a daycare facility in the building. "No matter what ... if you look at the building, you're going to see all the little cut-out hands, all the little apples and flowers showing that there's a kindergarten there," he said.

In the book American Terrorist: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing, McVeigh showed no remorse when it came to the victims. "I understand what they felt in Oklahoma City. I have no sympathy for them," he told the authors. "If I had known there was an entire daycare center, it might have given me pause to switch targets. That's a large amount of collateral damage."