Timothy McVeigh - Childhood

Childhood

McVeigh was born in Lockport, New York, the only son and the second of three children of William and Mildred "Mickey" McVeigh. His parents divorced when he was 10 years old and he was raised by his father in Pendleton, New York.

McVeigh claimed to have been a target of bullying at school and that he took refuge in a fantasy world where he imagined retaliating against those bullies. At the end of his life he would state his belief that the United States government is the ultimate bully. Most who knew McVeigh remember him as being withdrawn, with a few describing him as an outgoing and playful child who withdrew as an adolescent. McVeigh is said to have had one girlfriend during his childhood, later stating to journalists he did not know how to impress girls. According to his authorized biography, "his only sustaining relief from his unsatisfied sex drive was his even stronger desire to die."

While in high school, McVeigh became interested in computers and hacked into government computer systems on his Commodore 64, under a handle – "The Wanderer" – borrowed from the song by Dion DiMucci. In his senior year, McVeigh was named Starpoint Central High School's "most promising computer programmer," but maintained relatively poor grades up until his 1986 graduation.

McVeigh was introduced to firearms by his grandfather, and told 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 after he graduated from high school, as well as the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, and read magazines such as Soldier of Fortune. He briefly attended Bryant & Stratton College before dropping out.