Osama bin Laden is Dead

Osama bin Laden is dead and U.S. forces are in possession of his body, several news organizations reported Sunday night.

President Obama authorized an operation to kill Bin Laden last week after his location was confirmed. Bin Laden died in a firefight Sunday at a compound outside Islamabad. The U.S. has taken possession of his body.

While the president did not provide details, he said the United States has been tracking bin Laden for months and finally located him in a residence in Pakistan.

The news of Osama bin Laden's death spread rapidly across New Jersey on Sunday evening, despite the late hour.

Reaction throughout New Jersey was swift and almost universal: Exultation that one of the United States' most elusive foes was dead, and dead as a result of U.S. action.

In an extraordinary address Sunday night, President Obama interrupted almost every U.S. TV channel to announce the news.

While he did not provide details, he said that the U.S. has been tracking bin Laden for months and finally located him in a residence in Pakistan. After a firefight, the president said, bin Laden was killed, with no loss of U.S. lives.

Gov. Chris Christie, in a statement released Sunday evening after Obama's television appearance, thanked the administration. "There is hardly a life that has gone untouched in New Jersey by the horrifying assault on American soil that took place on September 11th and today, after years of waiting, justice has finally been delivered."

Sen. Robert Menendez said in a statement Sunday, "Like all Americans, New Jerseyans never forgot the heinous actions of those responsible, never forgot those whose lives were lost, never stopped asking questions of our government, and never ceased continuing the pressure on the importance of capturing Bin Laden and bringing justice to those responsible."

Bin Laden was leader of al Qaeda, the terrorist network behind the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, which killed approximately 3,000 people, many of them from the area.

Thirteen Chatham residents died in the attacks on Sept. 11, including Kenneth J. Swensen, Dennis Buckley, Paul Stuart Gibley, Anthony P. Infante, Robin Larkey, Christian Maltby, Philip Mastrandrea, Peter Moutos, Thomas Strada and Donald Adams.

Lance Cpl. Vincent M. Sullivan, another Chatham resident, joined the Marines after graduating from Chatham High School and died of injuries sustained in action while on duty in Iraq on July 23, 2004.

After midnight Sunday, a single family member of a 9/11 victim stood at Morris County's Sept. 11 memorial, located on West Hanover Avenue in Parsippany. The family member declined to comment for the record as he looked onto the tribute, built with steel from the twin towers of the World Trade Center, which toppled in the attacks.

At Sona 13 in Morristown, Chatham resident Jeff Sacco recalled his own experience of 9/11

"[When the towers fell], I just remember driving around, seeing everyone somber, not knowing," he said. "I think we lost 8 in Chatham, three were neighbors. I supported the decision [to go to war] 100 percent. I didn't think it would take this long. I respect American patriotism and the intelligence of elected officials and military. I can't thank them enough."

When he heard the news of bin Laden's death, he said, "I felt relief."

"We're making progress. Hopefully we'll see some more patriotism and enthusiasm for this country. We're making progress," he said.