Twenty-five years ago this week, with no warning, the world as we knew it changed forever.
Terrorist hijackers flew loaded planes into the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. Across the country, communities like Tucson tried to grasp what the attacks meant for the world, the country, and themselves.
All this week, AZPM will present a series of reports marking 25 years since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. We will examine how that terrible day shaped our world, and our community.
We’ll also listen to what our leaders had to say, such as these words of advice from then-mayor of Tucson, the late Robert Walkup, which are still worth heeding today:
“In the coming days, we're going to feel the sense of anger, and we're going to feel grief, and we're going to feel sorrow, and that's a normal process," Walkup said. "I think all of us have to do whatever we can to move through this process.”
That comes from a press conference held the day of the attacks, captured by AZPM and pulled from our archives. Below, you’ll find the full video of Walkup’s comments, along with footage from a gathering at the University of Arizona and an interview with Omar Shahin, then Imam at the Islamic Center of Tucson. Taken together, the footage recaptures the mood of the time: a mix of sadness, fear and some measure of hope for the future:
Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Tucson city officials, including then-Mayor Bob Walkup, held a press conference to discuss the attack and its impact. This story is part of the AZPM News series "Remembering September 11," exploring how 9/11 affected Arizonans and continues to shape our communities.
