Politics & Government

UPDATED: Highland Park Reacts to Killing of Osama Bin Laden

You can watch the press conference online.

Osama bin Laden is dead and U.S. forces are in possession of his body, president Barack Obama said Sunday night.

"Justice has been done," Obama said in a televised announcement Sunday.

While he did not provide details, he said that the U.S. has been tracking bin Laden for months and finally located him in a residence in Pakistan. After a firefight, the president said, bin Laden was killed, with no loss of U.S. lives.

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Sheriff Lee Baca, the top officer at the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department told K-CAL 9 reporters in an interview Sunday night that the county and nation will continue to face security challenges.  He said that like others in the country, the death does make him feel safer.

"I feel safer but I also know that there's still a whole world of violent extremeist behavior that is so irrational for the average citizen of the world," Baca said.

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Representative Xavier Becerra (CA-31), Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus, and congressional representative for many Northeast Los Angeles neighborhoods, released the following statement regarding the death of bin Laden.

“With the attack on 9/11, America had the right and the duty to pursue all those responsible, wherever that might take us. Justice for the victims and their families and for America's security and integrity demanded no less,"  he said. "The death of Osama bin Laden brings us one chapter closer to securing that justice."

The killing of bin Laden was a major topic of conversation in among Highland Park residents on Monday morning.

Inside , patrons and staff watched cable news updates about the developing story.

"It's good that they got him. Everybody's been talking about it," said Jesse Hernandez, who works at Hair Zone.

Hernandez said patrons were happy that bin Laden had been killed and not captured. There would be no need for an extended trial now, he said.

"This fool represented 9/11 for me. He was 9/11," he said. "This is not like when they captured Saddam Hussein, who everybody said was responsible for 9/11. We know his fool was directly involved."

Steve Sosa, who was standing outside of , said it was "about damned time" that bin Laden was killed.

He added that though he had reservations about the United States involvement in wars in Iraq in Afghanistan, he still believed the pursuit and killing of bin Laden was absolutely necessary.

"There's always a threat, every time there's a major holiday there's always a threat he could have planned something," he said.

Below is a list of the 48 victims from California who died in the September 11, 2001 al Qaeda attacks:

  1. Angell, David Lawrence - 54 - Pasadena, CA - Am 11
  2. Angell, Lynn - 52 - Pasadena, CA - Am 11
  3. Aoyama, Seima - 48 - Culver City , CA - Am 11
  4. Barnes, Melissa Rose - 27 - Redlands, CA - Dec Ptn
  5. Beaven, Alan - 48 - Oakland, CA - Un 93
  6. Betru, Yeneneh - 35 - Burbank, CA - Am 77
  7. Beug, Carolyn - 48 - Santa Monica, CA - Am 11
  8. Bingham, Mark K. - 31 - San Francisco, CA - Un 93
  9. Bodley, Deora Frances - 20 - Santa Clara, CA - Un 93
  10. Bolourchi, Touran Hamzavi - 69 - Beverly Hills, CA - Un 175
  11. Brandhorst, Daniel R. - 42 - Los Angeles, CA - Un 175
  12. Brandhorst, David Reed Gamboa - 3 - Los Angeles, CA - Un 175
  13. Burnett Jr., Thomas E. - 38 - San Ramon, CA - Un 93
  14. Calley, Suzanne - 42 - San Martin, CA - Am 77
  15. Collman, Jeffrey Dwayne - 41 - Novato, CA - Am 11
  16. Dearaujo, Dorothy - 82 - Long Beach, CA - Un 175
  17. Frost, Lisa Anne - 22 - Rancho Santa Margarita, CA - Un 175
  18. Gamboa, Ronald - 33 - Los Angeles, CA - Un 175
  19. Garcia, Andrew - 62 - Portola Valley, CA - Un 93
  20. Grandcolas, Lauren - 36 - San Rafael, CA - Un 93
  21. Green, Andrew Peter Charles Curry - 34 - Santa Monica, CA - Am 11
  22. Guadagno, Richard Jerry - 38 - Eureka, CA - Un 93
  23. Hall, Stanley - 68 - Rancho Palos Verdes, CA - Am 77
  24. Hardacre, Gerald F. - 62 - Carlsbad, CA - Un 175
  25. Hart, John Patrick - 38 - Danville, CA - Dec WTC
  26. Hofer, John - 45 - Bellflower, CA - Am 11
  27. Hughes, Melissa Harrington - 31 - San Francisco, CA - Dec WTC
  28. Keating, Barbara - 72 - Palm Springs, CA - Am 11
  29. Keller, Chandler "Chad" - 29 - El Segundo, CA - Am 77
  30. Lee, Daniel John - 34 - Van Nuys, CA - Am 11
  31. Lopez, Maclovio "Joe" - 41 - Los Angeles, CA - Un 175
  32. Menchaca, Dora M. - 45 - Santa Monica, CA - Am 77
  33. Miller, Nicole - 21 - San Jose, CA - Un 93
  34. Neira, Laurie Ann - 48 - Los Angeles, CA - Am 11
  35. Ornedo, Ruben - 39 - Los Angeles, CA - Am 77
  36. Pappalardo, Marie - 53 - Paramount, CA - Un 175
  37. Paskins, Jerrold H. - 56 - Anaheim Hills, CA - Dec WTC
  38. Pecorelli, Thomas Nicholas - 31 - Topanga, CA - Am 11
  39. Penniger, Robert - 63 - Poway, CA - Am 77
  40. Perkins, Berry Berenson - 53 - Los Angeles, CA - Am 11
  41. Sopper, Mari-Rae - 35 - Santa Barbara, CA - Am 77
  42. Suarez, Xavier - 41 - Chino Hills, CA - Am 11
  43. Titus, Alicia N. - 28 - San Francisco, CA - Un 175
  44. Tolbert, Otis Vincent - 38 - Lemoore, CA - Dec Ptn
  45. Vamsikrishna, Pendyala - 30 - Los Angeles, CA - Am 11
  46. Ward, Timothy Ray - 38 - San Diego, CA - Un 175
  47. Wemmers, Christian Hans Rudolph - 43 - San Francisco, CA - Dec WTC
  48. Wenckus, John Joseph - 46 - Torrance, CA - Am 11


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