MAINE, Maine — As part of its solemn observance of 9/11, the Emergency Management Agency in Hancock County is reminding Mainers that none of us is "immune" from acts of violence and terror.
Two of the terrorists involved in the plot to hijack four planes, Mohamed Atta and Abdulaziz Alomari, spent their final hours in Maine before boarding a flight at the Portland International Jetport headed to Boston on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001.
Once in Boston, they met up with three other terrorists and boarded American Airlines Flight 11, headed for Los Angeles. FBI records showed that Mohamed Atta choreographed the attacks and was at the controls of the plane when it hit the 110th story of the north tower of the World Trade Center at 8:45 a.m.
Hancock County Emergency Management staff took to social media on this day of remembrance to remind Mainers who might think we are safe and protected from human-caused acts of deliberate violence that it could happen anywhere.
They write, "We’re very fortunate that our posts here mostly speak to natural risks, such as severe weather events taking place in Downeast Maine, rather than terrorism as is the norm elsewhere."
But they tempered their warnings with an remembrance of the her goodness and heroism that the attacks also inspired across America.
They write of the terrorists who traveled through Portland Jetport, "We don’t know why they began their day of terror in Maine, but they did. On this anniversary, as we hold sacred the loss of lives that horrific day, along with honoring the continuing sacrifices of so many, please remember that we are not immune, not even here in our idyllic, Downeast paradise. Stay vigilant, stay informed, and stay safe."
Police and Fire Departments across Maine are paying their respects for those who lost their lives on 9/11.