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9/11 25th anniversary live updates: Families gather for ceremonies at World Trade Center, Pentagon, Shanksville

Ceremonies were held Friday in New York City, Virginia and Pennsylvania.

ByEmily Shapiro and Ivan Pereira
Last Updated: September 11, 2026, 1:29 PM EDT

Friday marks 25 years since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, which claimed the lives of 2,977 people at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Another 9,000 people have died from 9/11-related illnesses over the last 25 years.

Victims' families, first responders and politicians gathered for annual remembrance ceremonies at the memorials in downtown Manhattan, the Pentagon in Virginia, and Shanksville, as Americans across the country pause to remember and reflect.

"9/11 Tribute in Light: Live from Lower Manhattan," a one-hour ABC News multiplatform live special, premieres on Friday, Sept. 11, at 8:00 p.m. EDT across ABC, Disney+, Hulu, National Geographic, ABC Owned Television Stations livestreams and ABC News Live.

9-11 25 Years Later, America Remembers
ABC News

Key Headlines

Here's how the news is developing.
1 hour and 16 minutes ago

ABC News goes inside 9/11 Memorial & Museum

ABC News has gone inside the 9/11 Memorial & Museum to witness the hallowed space that's dedicated to making sure people never forget.

A quarter-century after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, ABC News goes inside the 9/11 Memorial & Museum to witness the hallowed space that's dedicated to making sure people never forget.
16:33
Visit 9/11 Memorial & Museum in honor of 25th anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001A quarter-century after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, ABC News goes inside the 9/11 Memorial & Museum to witness the hallowed space that's dedicated to making sure people never forget.
Getty Images/ABC
1 hour and 37 minutes ago

'We will never forget'

Family members of 9/11 victims are continuing to read their names at the downtown Manhattan ceremony.

The granddaughter of FDNY Lt. Robert Wallace said, “Not many moments go by where I don’t think about you.”

PHOTO: Sept 11 Anniversary
Mourners pause as they stand at the memorial during a ceremony commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks at the National September 11 Memorial in New York, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026.
Spencer Platt/Pool via AP

“Papa, even though we never met, I see you in everything. In mom, in Nana … and your seven grandkids,” she said.

“We will never forget your heroic sacrifice,” she said.

Cantor Fitzgerald employee William Raub's daughter was just 6 years old on 9/11.

One World Trade Center is seen in the background as flowers are left at the memorial during the 25th anniversary commemoration of the September 11, 2001 attacks at the National September 11 Memorial in New York on September 11, 2026.
Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

"I can still feel how much you love me 25 years later,” she said, “and I’m so lucky and so proud to be your daughter. We miss you so much."

The wife of Cantor Fitzgerald employee John Candela said, "Thank you, God, for putting John in my life and for the peace I have knowing that I will see John again in heaven."

“John, I love you tons. I miss your hugs. God bless us all and God bless America."

The names of all the victims can be seen here on the 9/11 Memorial & Museum website.

2 hours and 5 minutes ago

Flight 93 victims honored at Shanksville ceremony

Hundreds of people gathered in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, to mark the 25th anniversary of United Flight 93's crash.

Paula Jacobs, sister of Flight 93 victim Louis J. Nacke II and cousin Mary White Henderson, lean on the Wall of Names, at the Flight 93 National Memorial on the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, in Shanksville, Pa., September 11, 2026.
Nathan Howard/Reuters
A man looks down as he stands next to a U.S. flag during a ceremony held at the Flight 93 National Memorial at the Flight 93 National Memorial on the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, in Shanksville, Pa., September 11, 2026.
Nathan Howard/Reuters

The family members of the 40 passengers and crew who were killed read their names, accompanied by bells.

Members of the families of Flight 93 victims gather at the crash site of the hijacked airliner to take part in a family ceremony on the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, iin Shanksville, Pa., September 11, 2026.
Nathan Howard/Reuters

The color guard folded a U.S. flag and placed it on a giant rock near the edge of a grove of hemlocks. That rock is where some of the very last pieces of Flight 93 came to rest.

-ABC News' Stephanie Ramos and Janice McDonald

2 hours and 17 minutes ago

'Thank you for your sacrifice'

Family members are continuing to read the names of 9/11 victims at the downtown Manhattan ceremony.

Patricia Smith, whose mother, NYPD officer Moira Smith was killed while responding to the World Trade Center, said her mom "died the way she lived -- surrounded by people she wanted to help, doing the job that she loved."

Moira Smith, the only New York City policewoman killed in the September 11 terrorist attack on World Trade Center.
AP

"Mom, we love you and we miss you every day. I’m so proud to be your daughter and I’m grateful for the example you set," she said. "… Thank you for your courage, thank you for setting the standard, and most of all, thank you for your sacrifice."

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