Police say a 33-year-old New York man threw himself into the 20-foot “central void” of the 9/11 reflecting pool on Monday, injuring his leg.
Officials charged Jeffrey Hernandez with trespass and criminal mischief following the incident at the New York City memorial, the Daily Mail reported Tuesday, noting he initially threw himself into the 30-foot-deep basin.
Following the incident, the man was rushed to a local hospital for medical treatment.
A video clip showing what happened caught the moment he lay down in the water and looked over the edge. He then slid forward and fell head-first into the deep hole.
“I just pray that they’re still okay and me, I’m curious to know why. But not everything is going to be answered,” a tourist from Dallas identified as Weldon Stites told CBS New York:
According to the Mail article, the Manhattan resident “had already sustained an injury after throwing himself 30ft into the basin of the memorial in front of terrified onlookers. Video showed a gash on his head and the water filled with blood.”
An NYPD spokesman told the outlet the investigation into the matter was ongoing.
“We saw the firefighters and the emergency personnel come down the escalator as we went into the memorial,” recalled Phoenix tourist Lisa Bellowe.
“And they said, ‘Everything’s fine,’ but they were coming in and going to like a back room, and we figured that down there where we were was where they could access,” she explained.
Firefighters rescued the man who reportedly told them he “did this for his father,” the Mail article said, noting he would reportedly undergo a mental evaluation.
Social media users commented on the CBS report, one person writing, “Yeah he is obviously distressed. I hope he gets the help he needs.”
“I was there today … it was awful. After jumping into the pool he was bleeding everywhere, he proceeded to drag himself to the center basin and slowly went over head first. It’s a miracle he is alive,” another user said.
According to the Mail, grief experts have previously said, “the memorial could set off a ‘negative psychological reaction,’ especially those who have a direct connection to atrocities.”
In September, Breitbart News published a visual history of the attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001.
“Videos, photos, and audio captured the horror inflicted by Islamic terrorists and the heroism displayed by ordinary Americans forced onto the frontlines of a sudden new war,” the outlet stated.
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