• About Us
  • Paper Locations
  • Contact
Hispanic News || Shirley Ann Flower Shop || RS Deer Ranch
March 21, 2023
MEDIA KIT
African American News and Issues
63 °f
Houston
  • National
  • Local
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Education
  • Health
  • Politics
  • Announcements
  • Afram TV
  • Events
  • Entertainment
No Result
View All Result
African American News and Issues
  • National
  • Local
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Education
  • Health
  • Politics
  • Announcements
  • Afram TV
  • Events
  • Entertainment
No Result
View All Result
African American News and Issues
No Result
View All Result
  • AframNews Media Kit
  • About
  • Paper Locations
Home National

Hiding in plain sight: A 30-year-old hijacking mystery solved on 9/11

aframnews by aframnews
September 11, 2021
in National, News
0
Hiding in plain sight: A 30-year-old hijacking mystery solved on 9/11
74
SHARES
1.2k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedIn

A breezy and seasonally satisfying Tuesday, September 11, 2001, began with the promise that beat reporters crave – the knowledge that my story would appear on the front page.

You might also like

Are We Protesting for The Right Purpose

HISD and the TEA Takeover

Mentorship is Priceless

Riding high from the previous night attending Michael Jackson’s 30th-anniversary concerts at Madison Square Garden, my editor implored that I go straight to a school in Mount Vernon, NY.

She knew how to spoil a great evening watching the greatest pop music entertainer ever reunite with his brothers for a spectacular night at the World’s Most Famous Arena.

In Mount Vernon, my editor told me that I’d find the compelling story of Patrick Dolan Critton, a 54-year-old teacher who for 30 years hid as a fugitive in plain sight.

Critton belonged to a Black liberation group that, in 1971, allegedly robbed a bank and engaged in a shootout with cops.

The group then hijacked an airplane to escape arrest.

But there he was, teaching high school in New York as if he had never been on the FBI’s Most Wanted List and oblivious to the desperate desires the NYPD maintained for his capture.

Yes, this had A-1, above the fold, written all over it with my byline.

Early that morning, I gathered the pertinent details and headed back to my bureau located in nearby New Rochelle.

Indeed, I possessed all the goods, and if we were a tabloid, I’d have “The Wood.”
Entering the office shortly after 9 a.m. I discovered that my colleagues were standing around the bureau’s wall-mounted television.

The first terrorist-controlled airplane had just struck the Twin Towers.

“Wow, what an accident,” a colleague remarked.

Moments later, after the second airplane struck the towers, one colleague shirked, “That’s no accident!”
It certainly was not. I had been to the World Trade Center, been in those towers many times, and right before our eyes, they were reduced to rubble.

Shocking and completely unnerving, my colleagues and I realized that thousands of lives probably were vanquished. They were. More than 3,000 eventually died.

The terrorists weren’t finished. Far from it.

Another airplane would rock the western side of the Pentagon in D.C., and still, one more crashed in southwestern Pennsylvania. We began to wonder how many more airplanes the terrorists had hijacked.
Suddenly, my hijacking story fell off the radar – ticketed for the middle of the newspaper.

Someone had declared war on America, and for the first time since Pearl Harbor, an enemy attacked the United States on U.S. soil.

Phones in the office rang wildly.

Reporters who had loved ones in lower Manhattan ignored the incoming calls, choosing, of course, to check in on their loved ones.

Jermaine Jackson, the king of pop’s brother, called me.

“How do we get out of New York? Can you help us get out of the city,” Jackson asked?

The Jackson family had arrived in New York as part of Michael’s shows to celebrate his anniversary in show business.

At that time, we were longtime acquaintances and collaborators.

“This is scary. People are panicking,” exclaimed Jackson, who, along with several family members, stayed at the W Hotel in downtown Manhattan not far from the terrorist attacks.

Ultimately, the Jacksons rented two RVs and escaped from New York by taking the 3,000-mile drive back to Los Angeles.

Still, for me, the irony couldn’t be overstated.

I sat there, a notebook containing facts about a man named Critton who hijacked an airplane 30 years prior.

American Justice had finally caught up with him.

His story was as big as any, but now a footnote.

A terror mastermind named Osama bin Laden, who lived a cloak and dagger life more than 6,700 miles away in Afghanistan and escaping U.S. forces by living from cave to cave and underground bunker to underground bunker, stole Critton’s frontpage.

Bin Laden stole my front page. But, more importantly, his wicked and cowardly act cost thousands of precious lives and caused countless heartbreak.

Twenty years later, I’m confident that many would have preferred if my story remained the biggest headline of September 11, 2001.

Tags: 9/11World Trade Center
Share30Tweet19
aframnews

aframnews

Recommended For You

Are We Protesting for The Right Purpose

by aframnews
March 18, 2023
0
Are We Protesting for The Right Purpose

Houston, Tx – March 16, 2023. I have heard this loud protest about the Texas Education Agency (TEA) Taking over HISD. With a 2019-2020 enrollment of 209,309 students,...

Read more

HISD and the TEA Takeover

by aframnews
March 11, 2023
0
HISD and the TEA Takeover

Many are waiting to hear what will happen to the Houston Independent School District (HISD), as the Texas Education Agency (TEA) comes closer to taking over the district....

Read more

Mentorship is Priceless

by Crystal LaShan
March 3, 2023
0
Mentorship is Priceless

Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” This quote reminds me of the importance of mentoring...

Read more

A House Divided

by aframnews
February 26, 2023
0
A House Divided

The Republican Party was created in 1854 and was in support of African American equality for the first two decades. Abraham Lincoln, who was known as the 16th...

Read more

The New Apartheid

by aframnews
February 19, 2023
0
The New Apartheid

We are seeing many changes in our communities, and even our schools. Consider the events that are currently taking place at the historic Prairie View A & M...

Read more
Next Post
Zillow, United Negro College Fund, Black Tech Ventures to host HBCU Housing Hackathon

Zillow, United Negro College Fund, Black Tech Ventures to host HBCU Housing Hackathon

Latest Articles

SHERIFF ERIC FAGAN AWARDS $39,000 IN SCHOLARSHIPS

SHERIFF ERIC FAGAN AWARDS $39,000 IN SCHOLARSHIPS

March 20, 2023
HSPVA Black Alumni Network presents….The Wiz Emerald City Experience

HSPVA Black Alumni Network presents….The Wiz Emerald City Experience

March 18, 2023
Houston Family Arts Legacy

Houston Family Arts Legacy

March 18, 2023

NEED PAST ISSUES?

Search our archive of past issues Receive our Latest Updates
* indicates required
  • Local
  • National
  • Community
  • Education
  • Politics
  • COVID-19
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Sports

ARTICLES

  • Local
  • National
  • Community
  • Education
  • Politics
  • COVID-19
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Sports

CONNECT WITH US

  • Home
  • Advertise With Us
  • Contact

OTHER PUBLICATIONS

  • Hispanic News
  • Shirley Ann’s Flower Shop
African American News and Issues

African American News & Issues
6130 Wheatley St
Houston, TX 77091
(713) 692-1892

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Copyright © 2023. African American News & Issues. All rights reserved. Private Policy | Terms of Use |

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • National
  • Local
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Education
  • Health
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Announcements
  • Events
  • Afram TV
  • Contact

Copyright © 2023. African American News & Issues. All rights reserved. Private Policy | Terms of Use |

Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?