Man, 33, Jumps Into 9/11 Memorial Reflecting Pool
The "apparently emotionally disturbed person" injured his leg after the 30-foot fall, according to multiple reports
Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images
View of the Memorial Pool at the National 9/11 Memorial in New York City, United States on October 23, 2022.A 33-year-old man jumped into the 9/11 memorial reflecting pool in New York City on Monday, according to multiple reports.
At about 1:30 p.m. ET, police responded to the north pool at the 9/11 Memorial and discovered that the man — who has not been publicly identified — had jumped in, police said, NBC News reported.
Port Authority Police went through a maintenance access door to reach him, sources told CBS News.
Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images
'Reflecting Absence' by architect Michael Arad and landscape architect Peter Walker, known as the South Tower Memorial Pool at the National 9/11 Memorial in New York City, United States on October 23, 2022.According to the outlet, the fall was about 30 feet.
Authorities reported that an emergency medical services team attended to the man, who had sustained injuries to his left leg and back, per NBC News. He was arrested and transported by ambulance to Bellevue Hospital, the outlet reported.
The injuries were non-life-threatening and charges are pending, per NBC News.
Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images
'Reflecting Absence', by architect Michael Arad and landscape architect Peter Walker, known as the South Tower Memorial Pool at the National 9/11 Memorial in New York City, United States on October 23, 2022.The man will receive a mental evaluation and a criminal charge could include trespassing, according to CBS News.
The man was described as an "apparently emotionally disturbed person," a Port Authority spokesperson told NBC News.
Video of the man laying down in the water was shared on social media.
Security guards later set up chains around the pool, per NBC News.
"We saw the firefighters and emergency personnel come down the escalator as we were into the memorial," tourist Lisa Bellow told CBS News. "They said everything's fine, but they were coming in and going to a, like, back room, and we figured that down there was where they could access."
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CBS News reported that he "did this for his father,” noting that it was unclear if he lost anyone during the terrorist attacks.
Related: 'Beautiful' Double Rainbow Appears Over New York City on 22nd Anniversary of 9/11: See Photos
"I just pray that they’re still okay," tourist Weldon Stites told the outlet. "Me, I'm curious to know why, but not everything is going to be answered.”
The memorial features two pools — each located where the Twin Towers once stood before they collapsed on 9/11. As per the information on the 9/11 Memorial & Museum website, each pool sinks 30 feet into a basin and descends another 20 feet into a “central void.”
The pools are encircled by the inscribed names of 2,983 people who lost their lives in the tragedy and those who died in the World Trade Center bombing in 1993.
The NYPD did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
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