News Of Bin Laden's Death 'Absolutely Raw' For Local 9-11 Families
BOSTON (CBS) - It has been almost ten years since the attacks of September 11, 2001, but for those who lost loved ones that day, the memories are as clear as if it had been yesterday. For those families, the news of Osama bin Laden's death brought a flood of emotions.
"It's a good thing, but it really brought back all the sadness of 9-11 all over again," said Abington's Christie Coombs, whose husband Jeffrey was a passenger on American Airlines Flight 11. "We live with it on a daily basis, so that has never gone away, but it brought us right back to September 11, 2001, and really kind of hit us hard."
"It's still something we're still trying to process," Coombs said of herself and her three children. "It's absolutely raw."
Christie Coombs speaks with WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Deb Lawler
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Carie Lemack lost her mother Judy Larocque on Flight 11. For the Framingham family, the attacks on 9-11 were personal – and Osama bin Laden was nothing more than a mass murderer.
"It's not a day to focus on Osama Bin Laden, because he just doesn't deserve the attention." Lemack said.
"I'm glad that the President understood that today is a day to think about those who were killed on September 11, who were killed in other terrorist attacks conducted by this man. It's a day to honor them."
WBZ-TV's Bill Shields talked with Christie Coombs.
"I'm still not sure how I feel about it," a pensive Christie Coombs said early Monday. "It was shocking; it was stunning. It was something we certainly, certainly didn't expect, and to be quite honest, I hadn't thought about for a very long time."
"I'm glad he's no longer with us," Coombs said, "but I don't want to celebrate. But had he been taken prisoner, I wouldn't have wanted to live through the ordeal of a trial."
Coombs was at the 9-11 Memorial at Boston's Public Garden Monday, where she placed a rose on the granite structure, near her husband's name. Then, she hugged people who also lost loved ones on that day, almost ten years ago.
"There is a feeling of justice, and I'm glad he's dead, but I don't feel like dancing in the streets."
WBZ-TV's Bill Shields contributed to this report.
