Former manager breaks silence on man who helped 9/11 hijackers settle in US [Courtesy/Reuters]
Nearly 25 years after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, a former California apartment manager has spoken publicly for the first time about one of the men who helped two of the hijackers settle in the United States.
Holly Ratchford managed the Parkwood Apartments in San Diego in the late 1990s, where Omar al-Bayoumi was one of her tenants.
Bayoumi later became a central figure in investigations into the 9/11 plot after helping hijackers Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar settle in San Diego before they took part in the attacks.
“It’s almost impossible for me to wrap my head around who he said he was, and who he really is. I still struggle with that. He was always so bubbly and smiling. Just very, very friendly. Whenever I had parties, he would come and be a part of the activities. I enjoyed going over,” Ratchford told the BBC.
