Toms River Set To Honor 9/11 Victims At Annual Ceremony

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Toms River will hold its annual Sept. 11 remembrance ceremony on Sunday to honor those killed in the terrorist attacks on the United States in 2001.

The ceremony is set for 8:30 a.m. Sunday and is hosted by Toms River Fire Company 1 at the firefighter memorial at the corner of Robbins Street and Washington Street.

Nearly 3,000 people, including two from Toms River, were killed in the suicide attacks carried out by 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaida. Two planes were flown into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001, followed by a third plane that was crashed into the Pentagon. A fourth plane was brought down in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, by passengers who realized their flight had been hijacked.

At the World Trade Center, 2,763 died, including 343 firefighters and paramedics, 23 New York City police officers and 37 Port Authority police officers when American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 crashed, according to History.com. At the Pentagon, 189 people were killed, including 64 on American Airlines Flight 77, the airliner that struck the building. On United Flight 93, 44 people died in the crash in Shanksville, before it could reach its intended target.

The ceremony includes speeches and the ringing of the firefighter's bell that marks the end of their service.