Ten Years Since 9/11: Terrorists Took Shelter in Howard County

In the days following the Sept. 11 attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center, investigators found a grim trail of evidence showing that several of the terrorist hijackers lived for three weeks in a North Laurel motel and frequented businesses in Howard and Prince George’s counties.

From Aug. 16 to Sept. 10, 2001, five of the soon-to-be hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77 that crashed into the Pentagon lived in room 343 of the Valencia Motel in North Laurel.

Hani Hanjour, Khalid Almihdhar, Majed Moqed, Nawaf Alhamzi and Salem Alhamzi frequented several local businesses during that time, including Kinko's, Giant, Safeway, Target and the Laurel Library, according to federal investigators.

Here is a look at how Laurel residents discovered the dark secret that took place in the daylight of their own streets:

A Nation Challenged: The Plot

“They’d just look right through you,” said Gail North in The New York Times in tracing the hijackers’ plans. The Times, less than two weeks after the attacks, said investigators found a “spotty trail” of evidence left by the men in the Maryland suburbs.

Dulles Hijackers Made Maryland Their Base

The Washington Post tracked the FBI investigation throughout Central Maryland in the days following the attacks. "We saw them every day, but they wouldn't talk to anybody,” said Gail North, a Valencia Motel employee.

The Terrorists Next Door

Washington City Paper recounted the stories of residents who lived near the soon-to-be hijackers. Toris Proctor, who lived next door to the men at the Valencia Motel, spoke to several reporters in the days following the attacks, but said he grew wary of a backlash for speaking up.

Vigilance and Memory

The New York Times returned to the Valencia Motel one year after the Sept. 11 attacks as residents continued to try to figure out how such a plot could take place in their own backyard. ''We have no idea what we could have done different in our routine to figure out what they were planning,” said R.C. Shah, the motel manager at the time.

The 9/11 Commission Report

The official U.S. account of the hijackers’ plot touched on the group’s stay in Laurel and a meeting with Mohamed Atta, one of the lead conspirators who organized the Sept. 11 attacks and eventually flew American Airlines Flight 11 into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

Related Topics: Howard County, September 11, Terrorism, Valencia Motel, and pentagon