Video - Friends of 9/11 Victims, Wyckoff Town Officials Share Thoughts on Death of Bin Laden

The news of Osama bin Laden's death spread quickly across North Jersey late Sunday and early Monday, as a state which lost more than 650 residents in the 9/11 attacks – 147 of them from Bergen County – cheered the terror mastermind’s slaying at the hands of American soldiers.

Monday morning the memorial at Wyckoff Community Park, where 11 trees are planted in honor of victims killed on 9/11 stood silent. But community reaction started pouring in as the morning wore on.

"Obviously the terror attacks of 9/11 hit very close to home not only for the many lives in Wyckoff that were lost, but also for our very own Dana Hannon, who was formerly a Wyckoff fireman and was a new York city fireman who was lost in the attacks," Wyckoff Fire Chief Mike Rose said. "This news with Osama Bin Laden being killed … it’s some justice to combat the injustice that was done on that terrible day for the families who lost loved ones."

Hannon, one of 11 Wyckoff residents killed in the attacks, was a 29-year-old captain with the Wyckoff Fire Department as well as a firefighter with Engine Company 26 in the New York City Fire Department.

The 11 Wyckoff residents who lost their lives on 9/11 are:

• David Brady
• Thomas Bowden
• Dana Rey Hannon
• Alan K. Jensen
• Shari A. Kandell
• Thomas Kelly
• Sara Elizabeth Manley
• Scott M. McGovern
• Craig A. Silverstein
• Richard J. Todisco
• Roy M. Wallace

Mayor Kevin Rooney said he also hoped the death of bin Laden brought some sense of comfort and closure to those that lost loved ones.

"Wyckoff lost 11 people. So if the death of bin Laden gives them a little bit of solace and a little bit of closure I think that's great. It shows you how truly blesses we are to live in America where  we have people that volunteer their services to get into the armed forces with true expertise to carry out a mission putting their lives on the line to do the job they've been entrusted to do and that was to get him. It's a great thing." 

Township Administrator Bob Shannon, who at previous memorial services has performed on bagpipes in honor of the victims, described 9/11 as a "very emotional day in Wyckoff and a very real presence in the mind of Wyckoff residents and our volunteer firefighters. We lost 11 residents that day and they're never far from our minds and forever in our hearts."

Wyckoff Police Lt. David Murphy, who served as Captain in the Wyckoff Volunteer Fire Department during 9/11. He was a close friend of Dana Hannon for some 15 years as they served in the same fire company together. He remains friends with Hannon's former fiancee. Murphy describes the news of bin Laden's death as "bittersweet."

"I was astonished when I heard the news. I really was. It's something you hope for as a positive outcome. It's something you wait on for 10 years and when it happens it's actually bittersweet," Murphy said. "Being the 10-year anniversary is coming up when you lose a close friend you're upset that you lost someone that close, someone I believe is a hero, but the outcome, that they caught the killer that orchestrated all of this...it's refreshing."

"I hope this brings some closure for some of the family and eases some of the pain," Murphy added.

Late Sunday night images started to pour in across television screens of people in Washington D.C. descending in front of the White House in an outpouring of spontaneous celebration. One of those revelers was 20-year-old Ashley Bruggmann, a Wyckoff native and current sophomore at American University in Washington D.C. Bruggmann said she and about seven friends jumped in a car and headed toward the White House last night when they heard the news "because it felt right."

"This is something I can tell my kids about. That I was there when this happened," she said. "It's one of those things you don't think about, you just do it. That was something that I couldn't pass up."

Bruggmann, who's major at American is International Studies with a focus on foreign policy,  describes the scene outside the White House Sunday night as one of infectious celebration and patriotism. "There were people wrapping themselves in American flags and breaking out in song of God Bless America and the national anthem. It was just amazing," she said. "It's just such a relief that no longer have to worry about this one person responsible who was responsible for so much pain."

There was no immediate word about whether security into New York would be tightened Monday in the aftermath of bin Laden’s death. New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly told officers to be on alert despite not having information about any specific threat.

"I think Obama did a wonderful job in executing his plan to determine the whereabouts and location of Osama," said George Davis of Ridgewood. "I think that he will continue to serve our country in the most dignified manner that he possibly can."

Alex Randi, also of Ridgewood, expressed that he was pleased Bin Laden was killed.

"I love the fact that he was caught," he said.

Derreck Williams, who works at MacMurphy’s Bar in Ridgewood, said people were jovial when they saw the news on television sets.

"It was only a matter of time," Williams said. “It's just so weird that it took so long."

A stagehand in New York City on the production of Billy Elliot, Richard Fullum said he was at The Blarney Stone in Times Square when he heard the news.

"I did a doubletake, it was just unbelievable. It's really happening," he said. Fullum said The Blarney Stone "was going crazy." He said that his commute back to Ridgewood featured an overwhelming outpouring of emotion. People, he said, were cheering on the subways and at Secaucus Junction train station, crowding around the small bar.

"Knowing their tears," he said of victims’ families, "it just filled a void."

The president said that the U.S. had been tracking bin Laden for months and finally located him in a residence in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

"Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation. ... After a firefight, [soldiers] killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body," Obama said in an historic address to the nation.

“On nights like this one, we can say that justice has been done," the president added.

"I want to commend President Obama's Administration for its commitment and dedication to finally bringing Osama bin Laden to justice," Governor Christie said late Sunday. "As the former U.S. Attorney and now Governor of New Jersey, I speak for all the families of this state who have courageously endured the unspeakable and devastating consequences of terrorism.

"There is hardly a life that has gone untouched in New Jersey by the horrifying assault on American soil that took place on September 11th and today, after years of waiting, justice has finally been delivered."

Said US Senator Robert Menendez, “As a nation, we may all feel some measure of closure that justice was accomplished. ...  My thoughts and prayers, along with those of all New Jerseyans, are with those who lost family and friends on 9/11. Hopefully they can find some solace and a measure of closure today."

U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg said that the “civilized world” will have “great satisfaction” and called bin Laden “one of the worst killers in the history of man.”

“He was a ruthless terrorist responsible for a savage mission that killed thousands of innocent Americans and others around the world,” Lautenberg said. “Now we must be particularly diligent and let the message get out that we we’ll do whatever is necessary to stop this kind of madness.”