10 Scariest Real-Life Moments of the 1990s

10 Scariest Moments of the 1990s

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today were looking at moments from 1990 to 1999 that made the world stand still.

Los Angeles Riots (1992)

In the wee hours of the morning on March 3, 1991, motorist Rodney King was pulled over by police officers in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles for speeding. The responding officers, under the false impression that King was armed, beat him ferociously. Unbeknownst to them at the time, bystander George Holliday filmed the beating on his personal camcorder, and the resulting footage was widely publicized. Despite the overwhelming evidence against them, the four officers were acquitted of assault, and three of excessive force. This, combined with growing unrest amongst Black Americans, resulted in the calamitous L.A. riots, saw 63 deaths, over 2000 injured, and a reported $1 billion in damages.

Hurricane Andrew (1992)

Its almost easier to describe Hurricane Andrew in terms of the statistics it wrought. Causing havoc in the Bahamas and the American state of Louisiana, Hurricane Andrew was felt most strongly in Florida. Taking place over the course of two terrifying weeks in August 1992, the tropical cyclone stood as the costliest, most devastating hurricane to hit Florida until Hurricane Irma in 2017. In fact, it was the costliest in any part of the contiguous United States until the infamous Katrina of 2005. Costing oil companies a reported half a billion dollars due to damage sustained to oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, Andrew was directly responsible for 65 deaths and nearly $30 billion in destruction.

World Trade Center Bombing (1993)

Nearly a decade before the now-unforgettable events of September 11, 2001 in New York City, extremist militant organization al-Qaeda launched a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. On Friday, February 26, 1993, Ramzi Yousef and Eyad Ismoil set off a bomb in its parking garage, killing six people, including a pregnant Port Authority employee. Hundreds more found themselves trapped in the dark, smoky towers. The goal of the attack, as stated by Yousef, was to strong-arm the United States into dissolving its relationship with Israel, as well as staying out of the Middle Easts business. Although its been largely overshadowed by 9/11, the 1993 bombing was a senseless tragedy that saw over a thousand injured.

Waco Siege (1993)

Founded in 1955 by Benjamin Roden, the General Association of Branch Davidian Seventh-day Adventists are widely regarded as a doomsday cult. Roden died in 1978 and his wife Lois assumed his place as Davidian prophet. That was until 1981, when Vernon Howell who changed his name to David Koresh arrived, amassing growing influence in the organization until 1987, when he spun off his own sect of Davidians. Koreshs Branch Davidians assimilated the original group by force, and in 1993, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms attempted to raid the Mount Carmel Center ranch. The ensuing 51-day standoff and firefight resulted in the deaths of four ATF agents, as well as 82 Branch Davidians including 28 children.

Rwandan Genocide (1994)

Over the course of just three months, from April to July of 1994, a coalition of extremist Hutu militia groups in the East African nation of Rwanda, killed as many as an estimated 800,000 Tutsis. This was in addition to 10,000 members of the Twa peoples, and up to 500,000 Tutsi women who were sexually assaulted by Hutu militants. The most infamous moment of the larger Rwandan Civil War, which began in 1990 before ending in July 1994, the deadly chaos was spurred on by the assassination of Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana. The genocide didnt end, per se; while the mass killings ceased, the conflict instead morphed into the First Congo War in 1996.

Oklahoma City Bombing (1995)

On April 19th, 1995, disgruntled Gulf War veteran Timothy McVeigh carried out the deadliest domestic terror attack ever committed on American soil, killing 169 people and injuring 684 more. Intended as revenge against the United States government for the raids at Ruby Ridge and Waco, McVeigh and co-conspirator Terry Nichols detonated a Ryder rental van on the north side of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. The seismic blast has been compared to over 5000 pounds of TNT, and caused irreparable damage to over 300 nearby structures and buildings. Tried and convicted in 1997, McVeigh was executed in June of 2001, and Nichols was sentenced to life in prison just three years later.

TWA Flight 800 Explosion (1996)

Only twelve minutes after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, Flight 800 exploded and killed all 230 people onboard. Parallel criminal investigations undertaken by the FBI and JTTF took nearly a year and a half to determine that there had been no criminal element, and the resulting NTSB investigation took just over four years. The costliest and most intensive assessment in aviation history up to that point, the NTSB determined that, in all likelihood, the tragedy was caused by a short circuit outside of the [center wing fuel tank] that allowed excessive voltage to enter it through electrical wiring associated with the fuel quantity indication system.

Centennial Olympic Park Bombing (1996)

While fulfilling his job duties during the 1996 Summer Olympics, 33-year-old security guard Richard Jewell discovered a suspicious package under a bench at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, Georgia. While Jewell and his fellow security guards initiated an evacuation, the package actually an explosive was detonated, killing two people and injuring over 100 more. Jewell was soon named as a major suspect, and as such, was hounded by the media and authorities, resulting in his trial in the court of public opinion. Eventually, further Atlanta bombings gave way to the FBIs identification of Eric Rudolph as the true perpetrator. In 2005, Rudolph was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Murder of Gianni Versace (1997)

Founder of the legendary luxury fashion brand that bore his last name, Gianni Versace was a highly prominent fixture of 20th century high culture. The Italian designer and businessman was not only highly prolific but deeply versatile: for example, he designed the costumes worn by musicians Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney in the 1983 Say Say Say music video. Versaces life came to a disturbing end in 1997, upon being murdered by serial killer Andrew Cunanan. Cunanan, who by this point had already murdered four other men, took his own life just eight days later. Cunanans exact motives for carrying out the murders remain chillingly unclear.

Columbine High School Massacre (1999)

We still dont have the exact answers as to why Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold opened fire on their high school in Columbine, Colorado, on April 20, 1999. What we do know, though, was that, until 2012, their rampage was the deadliest of its kind at an American K-12 school. Employing a combination of powerful firearms and improvised explosives, 16 people were killed, including Klebold and Harris, who made the choice to end their lives at the scene after the massacre had ended. Efforts to determine the why of it all, beyond inflicting mass pain and suffering, have been pored over for decades, with no one any closer to understanding the duos actions than the day they took place.

Which 90s moment in our video shocked you the most? Are there any we missed? Be sure to let us know in the comments below!