September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks (also referred to as 9/11) were a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda against the United States on the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001. The attacks killed 2,996 people, injured over 6,000 others, and caused at least $10 billion in infrastructure and property damage. Additional people died of 9/11-related cancer and respiratory diseases in the months and years following the attacks.
Emergency workers killed in the September 11 attacks
Several New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers saw Flight 11's impact with the North Tower and immediately reported it to dispatchers. Ten minutes after Flight 11's impact and seven minutes before Flight 175's impact, the NYPD chief of department was en route to the scene and raised the police mobilization to level 4, thereby sending around 22 lieutenants, 100 sergeants, and 800 police officers to the World Trade Center. NYPD personnel were primarily responsible for assisting in evacuations and helping injured civilians.
Three police helicopters were also deployed to report on conditions and assess the feasibility of a rooftop landing or of special rescue operations. Once Flight 175 had struck the South Tower, another level 4 mobilization was ordered, bringing to almost 2,000 the number of NYPD personnel at the scene. Some were ordered to enter the World Trade Center to assist with the FDNY's evacuations.