Locals React to Osama bin Laden's Death

After hearing President Barack Obama's address to the nation Sunday night about the death of Osama bin Laden, thousands paraded in front of the gates to the White House waving American flags and chanting "U-S-A! U-S-A!"

Monday, residents in Mansfield reacted to the news that U.S secret forces had found and killed the world’s most wanted man in Pakistan.

State Representative Gregory Haddad, D-54th District, of Mansfield, said that the breaking news kept him tuned in to national television reports late into Sunday night.

"It's an odd thing to see people celebrate a death, but I think that this is an enormous relief and has brought a sense of justice to a lot of people here, particularly in Connecticut, where we've seen a lot of victims of September 11th come from," Haddad said.

"Yesterday's operation really reminds us how well-trained they [the military] are and how capable they are of executing their mission. They deserve a lot of credit for the sacrifices they've made over the last 10 years," he said.

After waiting for hours for President Obama to address the nation, Mansfield resident Pat Cornell retired for the night, and didn't "officially"  hear about bin Laden's death until early Monday morning.

"These are events that stay with you," she said. "Everybody's talking about it. I'm sorry that it took almost 10 years. I just wish it would have happened sooner. ... It's one thing we don't have to worry about anymore and hopefully our troops will be home soon," Cornell added.

“I think it was important that this had to occur,” said Robert Wyss, an associate professor of journalism at the University of Connecticut, who was at Mansfield Town Hall Monday morning.  “I don’t know if it really means we’re going to be any more safe, but it was an important milestone that had to happen. …In a way it was kind of sad that it happened, but in a way it was a relief that it happened." 

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of State issued a warning for “enhanced potential for anti-American violence” to American travelers and those living abroad. As of 11 a.m. Monday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security had not issued any National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) alerts.

UConn Police Lt. Hans Rhynhart and Mansfield Fire Chief David J. Dagon said that their respective departments had not yet received any directives from the state of Connecticut for a change in protocol. Dagon said that he recognized that there may be some anticipation for ramped-up security in the area.

“Going back to 2001, ’02 and ’03, there was a definite period where we [Mansfield] were identifying either state or federal assets that could be considered targets for terrorism,” Dagon said. “The [Mansfield Hollow] dam would be one of them, and certainly with the university in town, there are plenty of state assets here that I guess could be used as a target, although that’s hard to imagine. But certainly if they [terrorists] wanted to attack government institutions, we have several of those in town,” he said.

“It [news of bin Laden’s death] gives us an opportunity to kind of pause and reconsider exercises we did in 2001, ‘02 and ‘03 when we were trying to play through different scenarios that might occur that we should be prepared for,”  Dagon said.

Dagon added that news of bin Laden’s death is a “positive development” in the war on terror. “The fire service was hit pretty significantly with the loss of all the New York firefighters that day [September 11, 2001],” he said. “I do feel that justice was served … as difficult as it is to think that killing a person does that.”