News: Piece of World Trade Center Donated to Shooting Victim
(Long Island, N.Y.) A nine-year-old girl who was killed in the Tucson, Arizona shooting will receive a piece of the World Trade Center in her honor. She was the youngest victim in January’s shooting rampage which killed six people and left thirteen people wounded and injured including representative Gabrielle Giffords. The piece of steel from the World Trade Center is being donated by the New York and New Jersey Port Authority which owns the trade center site.
The little girl was born on September 11th, 2001 and has been given attention for being born and having died on days of national tragedy. The piece of steel will be five and a half feet in length and will be part of a sculpture molded into the shape of an angel. The sculpture, designed by Lei Hennessy-Owen, will be ready in time for a dedication ceremony on April 1st.
The steel from the World Trade Center will join a three and a half foot long piece of steel from the Pentagon. The steel was collected at the scene of the 9/11 attacks. Also, a large rock from the crash site of United Airlines flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania will be included in the statue entitled “The Freedom’s Steadfast Angel of Love.”
The dedication ceremony for April 1st is expected to have a turnout from family members of 9/11 victims. The steel donated from the World Trade Center will be retrieved from a hangar at John F. Kennedy International Airport and shipped to Arizona in time for the event. It is a piece of an I-beam, and it will help construct the statue along with the other 9/11 memorial pieces.
The angel will stand almost ten feet tall and be placed at James D. Kriegh Park in Oro Valley, Arizona. It’s the same park that once hosted the nine-year-old girl’s little league games. She will be honored in opening day dedications and ceremonies by the Canyon del Oro little league.
The sculptor of the statue also constructed different sculptures at three of the 9/11 crash sites and has created many pieces across the country. The little girl will continue to be honored by donations to her memorial fund. Within one month after January’s shooting, donations were made from ten different countries and forty-three states.
As a child born on September 11th, 2001, the nine-year-old victim of the shooting was highlighted in a book called “Faces of Hope.” A child from each state was selected to help put together the book. The girl was noted for her proud participation in her little league as second baseman and the only female player on the team.
Coming from a baseball family, the girl was honored during a charity game played in Tucson. The game was between the Chicago White Sox and the Arizona Diamondbacks. The girl’s father is a scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers and her grandfather once managed the Philadelphia Phillies.
More efforts were made by 9/11 sites to honor the youngest victim of January’s shooting. A giant American flag was sent from ground zero to be used at her funeral. Family and friends of the little girl stood underneath the flag during the service.
