Tuesday, September 11, 2001

Quotes from Texans following terrorist attacks
“I urge all Texans to pray for our country, to pray for our president in this most unprecedented time in our country’s history. I also want to urge calm among citizens in this state.” — Gov. Rick Perry.
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“These despicable acts of terrorism will be avenged. The primary duty of our government is the defense of our nation and we will do our duty. America is the shining light of freedom in the world. That light cannot be extinguished by acts of cowardice.” — Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.
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“I urge all Texans to spend some time today with their families, in prayer and reflection, as we try to answer the unanswerable questions surrounding these tragedies.” — Texas Attorney General John Cornyn.
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“We are horrified by these tragic events. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of all involved.” — American Airlines chief executive Don Carty.
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“It looks like a country at war, like a country being bombed. You expect these kinds of things, these pictures, to come from another country, not from a country like this. This is scary. It’s very scary.” — Rep. Solomon Ortiz, D-San Antonio.
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“It’s like a bad dream. I listened to the radio because I just didn’t want to see all that destruction. Forget the buildings, think about all of the lives.” — 58-year-old Houston resident Sharon Holberg.
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“I guess we’re at war now. We just need to figure out with who. I think this is worse than Pearl Harbor. It brings a whole new meaning to ’Day of Infamy.”’ — Scott Lieberman, a 40-year-old cardiologist from Tyler stranded at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
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“If they can’t protect the Pentagon, how can they protect us? We’ll just have to sit here and hold tight.” — Crawford resident Joyce Smith.
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“The things that I thought were so important yesterday are so meaningless to me today. And people are laughing and saying it happens everywhere else. But this doesn’t happen everywhere else. This is not the same. This is catastrophic.” — Linda Garrett, Houston business owner.

Compiled by The Associated Press