Man and Woman Killed on 9/11 Formally Identified 22 Years After Terrorist Attack

The man and woman killed on 9/11 have been officially identified 22 years after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, the New York City mayor’s office said.

New York City Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jason Graham said in a press release Friday that “the two new identifications continue to fulfill the solemn promise made by the OCME (Office of the Chief Medical Examiner) to return the remains of the World Trade Center victims to their loved ones.”

“Faced with the largest and most complex forensic investigation in our country’s history, we are steadfast in our mission to use the latest advances in science to deliver on this promise,” he added.

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A general view shows a light display test for the 9/11 ‘Tribute in Lights’ memorial in New York.

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Graham said the identification came about thanks to the New York DNA lab’s ability “to generate results after more than two decades of trying to test negative.”

He added that these include strategies that “include the recently adopted next-generation sequencing technology — more sensitive and faster than conventional DNA techniques — that the US military has used to identify the remains of missing US soldiers.”

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DNA tests on remains found in 2001 confirmed the identity of a man, while the identity of a woman was confirmed by DNA tests on remains found in 2001, 2006 and 2013,” Graham continued.

The identifications are the first that have been made since September 2021 using DNA testing, he pointed out. Of all the people who died in the attack on the World Trade Center, 40 percent — about 1,104 people — “remain unidentified,” he added, according to the release.

Fog covers the skyline of lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center on the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

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“Our thoughts go out to those we lost that terrible morning and their families who continue to live each day with the pain of missing loved ones,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement.

“We hope these new identifications can bring some measure of comfort to the families of these victims,” ​​he continued, noting “the ongoing efforts of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirm the city’s unwavering commitment to reuniting all World Trade Center victims with their loved ones.”

Last year, President Joe Biden paid tribute to the victims of 9/11 during his speech at the Pentagon Memorial Ceremony.

“I know, for all of you who have lost someone. Twenty-one years is both a lifetime and no time at all,” he said in the tribute. “It’s good to remember. These memories help us heal, but they can also open up the pain and take us back to that moment when the grief was so raw.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education