Tornado interrupts Terry Nichols hearing
An FBI agent had begun to recount an interview with Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols when a tornado in the area forced the suspension of the preliminary hearing. Special Agent Steve Smith, of Topeka, Kan., testified briefly Thursday afternoon about the April 21, 1995, interview at the Herington, Kan., police station with Nichols before he was detained as a material witness. But when tornado sirens sounded around 5 p.m., the hearing was stopped and all court personnel, sheriff’s deputies and spectators were ushered into a basement-level cafeteria. After the sirens fell silent, an Oklahoma County sheriff’s official announced that a tornado had raked across south Oklahoma City and its suburbs. Smith is to resume his testimony Friday morning. Full Story