OAN’s Elizabeth Volberding
1:35 PM – Tuesday, October 10, 2023
A 33-year-old unidentified man has been arrested in New York City after jumping into the reflecting pool at the 9/11 Memorial located in the World Trade Center.
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On Monday, the man was detained after jumping into the pool at the 9/11 Memorial, police said.
The incident came at approximately 1:30 p.m. when police were notified to come to the north reflecting pool, where they discovered the 33-year-old man.
According to authorities, he was assisted by emergency medical services. He reportedly injured his left leg and his back after jumping and was immediately taken by ambulance to the Bellevue Hospital for treatment.
The 33-year-old was treated for non-life threatening injuries and his charges remain pending, officials say.
According to sources, rescuers with the Port Authority Police were able to get through an access door utilized for maintenance in order to retrieve the man.
Allegedly, the man told one of the officers that he “did this for his father.” It is currently unknown if the man had lost any family members in the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001.
A Port Authority spokesperson described him as an “emotionally disturbed person.”
Security guards were also seen assembling chains around the memorial pool in order to deter anyone else from leaping in.
Video footage posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, portrays the man lying in the water in the pool’s central basin, gazing into the middle opening.
“I just pray that he’s still okay,” tourist Weldon Stites said to reporters “I’m curious to know why.”
“We saw the firefighters and emergency personnel come down the escalator,” tourist Lisa Bellow said. “They said everything’s fine. They were coming in and going to a, like, back room, and we figured out there was where they could access.”
The pool is one of two at the 9/11 Memorial.
The north reflecting pool in the World Trade Center is roughly 30 feet down to the bottom and drops further into a “central void.” The water was turned off after the incident.
The man, whose name is being withheld by authorities, will be undergoing a mental evaluation and it is possible that his criminal charges will include trespassing.
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By: OAN
