Reaction to demise of bin Laden mixed in N.J.

There is mixed reaction to the death of Osama bin Laden in New Jersey, the home of a quarter of those who perished in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center.

Gov. Chris Christie said Monday he believes justice has been served.

“I think there’s an extraordinary sense of closure for a lot of people–that the person who masterminded and ordered these attacks that killed three thousand of our citizens has now been brought to justice himself,” the governor said.

Christie said he can’t think of anything better for bin Laden than to have met his end at the hands of the American military.

But East Brunswick resident Lorie Van Auken, whose husband died in the World Trade Center attacks, said bin Laden’s killing amounts to revenge, not justice.

“There’s no satisfaction. It just kind of conjures up the old pain and the old questions,” she said. “We would have liked to see justice for the deaths of our loved ones, real justice, which would have meant if you found bin Laden put him on trial so we could actually watch justice unfold.”

Christie said he hopes those who lost loved ones on 9/11 will find some closure.

“I hope that the families today, at least for a short period of time, could feel some measure of solace about the fact that the man who perpetrated these crimes is now sitting at the bottom of the sea somewhere,” he said.

And the governor praised President Barack Obama for his handling of the situation.

“The president deserves great credit for that,” Christie said.