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New York City is marking the 33rd anniversary of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing today, Thursday, with a solemn commemoration ceremony at the 9/11 Memorial's North Pool — the same site where six people lost their lives in one of the deadliest terror attacks on American soil before September 11, 2001.
According to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, the annual ceremony begins at 12 p.m. ET at the northwest corner of the North Pool, near panel N-73. A moment of silence will be observed at 12:18 p.m. ET — the exact time the bomb detonated 33 years ago. The ceremony includes the tolling of a bell and a reading of the names of the six victims.
The event is open to victims' family members, survivors, first responders, and lower Manhattan residents and workers. Those unable to attend in person can watch the ceremony live online.
What Happened on February 26, 1993
On that Friday in 1993, a small cell of terrorists detonated roughly 1,200 pounds of explosives packed into a rental van parked in the underground garage beneath the World Trade Center's North Tower. The blast tore open a five-story, 150-foot-wide crater in the sub-level floors and sent thick black smoke billowing through the towers.
The explosion killed six people: John DiGiovanni, Robert Kirkpatrick, Stephen Knapp, William Macko, Wilfredo Mercado, and Monica Rodriguez Smith, who was pregnant and due to begin maternity leave the very next day. More than 1,000 others were injured, including 88 firefighters, 35 police officers, and an emergency medical services worker.
Tens of thousands of people evacuated the complex, some spending hours navigating dark, smoke-filled stairwells. Rescuers checked more than 200 elevator cars and freed people from 45 of them. Police helicopters airlifted dozens of people from the rooftops, including one woman in labor.
A Warning That Foreshadowed 9/11
As reported by PBS NewsHour, the bombing is widely viewed as a forerunner to the September 11 attacks. Ramzi Yousef, the convicted ringleader, had hoped the explosion would topple one tower into the other. His uncle, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, later became the self-proclaimed mastermind of 9/11.
"The '93 World Trade Center bombing was the powder keg for the 9/11 attacks," said Andrew Colabella, a cousin of victim John DiGiovanni. Colabella said the earlier attack is too often remembered as "a blip" rather than the serious warning it was.
Six people were convicted and imprisoned in connection with the bombing. A seventh suspect remains on the FBI's Most Wanted list.
Voices of Survival
Some who survived the 1993 bombing later found themselves fleeing the World Trade Center again on September 11, 2001 — earning the grim distinction of being called "dual survivors."
Lolita Jackson, who was working on the 72nd floor when the bomb went off, is one of them. "I'm a living testament that it can happen to you, and it can happen to you twice," she said. Jackson has urged people not to grow complacent about the threat of mass violence.
A Legacy of Safety and Memory
In the wake of the 1993 attack, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey banned underground parking at the complex and installed security cameras, vehicle barriers, and worker ID systems. Emergency protocols put in place after the bombing — including evacuation drills and emergency stairwell lighting — are widely credited with saving thousands of lives on 9/11.
The 9/11 Memorial Museum's permanent collection holds numerous artifacts tied to the 1993 attack, including a mangled stop sign, a glass window fragment, and a twisted piece of metal that helped investigators identify the bombers. Both the brass plaque and memorial fountain originally dedicated to the 1993 victims were destroyed on September 11, 2001. A fragment of the fountain was recovered and rededicated on the 12th anniversary of the bombing, in 2005.
For those who cannot attend today's ceremony in person, the 9/11 Memorial & Museum will stream the event live at 911memorial.org/watch.
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