Three new victims of the 9/11 attacks were identified this week by New York medical officials, nearly 24 years after the deadliest terrorist attack in American history.
The New York City (NYC) Office of the Chief Medical Examiner identified Ryan Fitzgerald from New York, Barbara Keating from California and a third unnamed woman through DNA analysis.
“Each new identification testifies to the promise of science and sustained outreach to families despite the passage of time. We continue this work as our way of honoring the lost,” the chief medical examiner Dr. Jason K. Graham said in a Thursday statement.
The examiners’ office continues to reach out to family members for DNA reference samples” in its effort to identify victims.
The Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center resulted in 2,753 deaths. According to the Medical Examiner’s office, the three victims identified this week are the 1,651st, 1,652nd and 1,653rd victims. About 1,100 victims of the deadly Al-Qaeda attacks remain unidentified.
“The pain of losing a loved one in the September 11th terror attacks echoes across the decades, but with these three new identifications, we take a step forward in comforting the family members still aching from that day,” Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement.
Keating and Fitzgerald’s names were already carved into the 9/11 memorial.
