Today marks 25 years since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which left nearly 3,000 people dead and forever changed the United States.
On that morning, 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial airplanes. Two were flown into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, causing both towers to collapse. A third plane struck the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. Passengers and crew members aboard the fourth plane, United Airlines Flight 93, fought back against the hijackers before the plane crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
The attacks killed 2,977 people and led to sweeping changes in national security and U.S. foreign policy, including the war in Afghanistan.
The anniversary will be commemorated throughout the day with events across the country. Ceremonies will be held at each of the three sites where the attacks unfolded.
Stay tuned to Scripps News for coverage throughout the day.
World Trade Center
The names of those killed at the World Trade Center will be read during a ceremony attended by Vice President JD Vance and the nation’s four living former presidents. The reading will pause for moments of silence at key times during the attacks:
- 8:46 a.m., when American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower
- 9:03 a.m., when United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower
- 9:37 a.m., when American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon
- 9:59 a.m., when the South Tower collapsed
- 10:03 a.m., when United Airlines Flight 93 crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania
- 10:28 a.m., when the North Tower collapsed
More than 2,600 people were killed at the World Trade Center site. In the years since, many first responders have continued to suffer illnesses linked to the aftermath of the attacks.
Pentagon
President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine are scheduled to attend a Friday morning ceremony in the Pentagon Center Courtyard. Trump is expected to speak.
Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon, killing 184 people, most of them inside the building.
Shanksville, Pennsylvania
Multiple ceremonies are planned Friday at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where 44 people died after passengers fought hijackers and forced the plane down.
A morning observance will include a reading of the names of the passengers and crew members. Officials said the Bells of Remembrance will ring in their honor.
An afternoon ceremony at 1 p.m. will include remarks, keynote speakers, music and a public wreath-laying ceremony.
