And so, on May 1st, 2011, they finally got their man.
President Obama delivered the news of Osama Bin Laden's death on tiny screens outside ABC studios in Times Square. However, the jumbo-sized screen used for major sporting events continued cycling advertisements.
Cheering was sporadic at Times Square, with one police officer finding it too difficult to pull himself out of a huddle of women.
News of Bin Laden's death scrolled across news tickers in Times Square for an hour before President Obama's speech.
Once fire trucks from Engine 4 arrived at Times Square, crowds began to form peppered with cheers and patriotic songs.
I vividly remember Sept. 11, 2001. I remember sitting uncomfortably in my school clothes at home, too consumed by the weight of the tragedy to bother with changing. What was a little discomfort when so many died in an instant? So many innocents, but not just any innocents: New York innocents. American innocents. Going-to-work, hitting-happy-hour, watching-tv innocents. From over here in the western hemisphere, the horrible losses and casualties of war were items in the newspaper for our consideration. The attack brought the realities of a troubled world into painfully sharp focus.
A reveler donned his Captain America suit and visited Ground Zero for the festivities.
Bag Pipers came out to play a few tunes, including the "America the Beautiful", to a cheering crowd.
And we hunted the man responsible. Today, President Obama announced Bin Laden was shot in the head by our special operatives. I was sure that he had died long ago in a missile strike on a nameless cave in the mountains of Pakistan. But there he was, living in a mansion.
One reveler stood away from the enthusiastic crowds to absorb the news quietly.
And New York is celebrating. I was about to head home before hearing the news. My phone was dying, I happened to have my gear on me, and I was heading to the Grand Central Station subway lines. My buddy texted me the news and I took off running towards Times Square. A strike of fortune that I am beginning to notice more often in my life. I was grateful to spend my late evening/early morning photographing a historic moment in New York history.
Revelers sang patriotic songs and drank beers at Ground Zero while celebrating Bin Laden's death.
Young revelers began crowd surfing, drinking, and smoking marijuana later on in the festivities, turning the celebrations into more of a rock concert.
There will be tremendous celebrations and countless televised heads blithering about the implications of Bin Laden’s death. In the end, today marks a special moment where a nation may find some solace. Tomorrow will come as it always has, long before we inhabited this planet and long after we’ve vanished. We can’t stop the passage of time and the risks and uncertainty that lies ahead, but we can appreciate that right now, despite the legion of evil that seems to persist, there’s one less monster in this world.
Cheering and spontaneous shouting erupted in the jubilant crowd at Ground Zero following the announcement.
Affection for President Obama was evident in the young crowd celebrating at Ground Zero.