Murray Federal Building

Murray Federal Building

The events of the Murrah Federal building attack was a wakeup call to the American people and law enforcement community.   After reviewing the case study on the Murrah Federal building I have found several shortcomings and commendations for the law enforcement agencies involved in the crisis.   There were several suspicious activities that could have been followed up on by law enforcement that would have allowed the authorities to stop the bombing before it happened.  
The first suspicious activity that should have been caught was the extensive reconnaissance that McVeigh put into his operation.   In a building with that many law enforcement agencies present there had to be someone on security detail as well as security cameras recording the perimeter of the building.   That detail should have picked up on the same unknown person walking around the area, sitting in a vehicle, etc.   Granted by nature of the facility there was undoubtedly a high volume of traffic in and out during the course of a business day, however manifests of shipments, the safety sign in logs, and staff parking identification should have been able to point out that he did not belong there.   The detail could have approached him and started questioning him about why he was there.   Depending on the outcome of that questioning he could have been established as a possible threat and would only have taken some light effort to have McVeigh placed under counter-surveillance and followed.  
The second suspicious activity that could have been followed up on was the large purchases of ammonium nitrate.   The same name was used when the ammonium nitrate was purchased and given the amount should have raised flags at the ATF.   At the time of the incident the agency didn’t track fertilizer as much as they do now, but given the area and the fact that a new person just bought two tons in a short amount of time it would have warranted a little investigation.   Couple that with the stolen detonators relatively...