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<\/p>\nORLANDO, Fla. \u2014 Twenty-five years ago, one man\u2019s decision at Orlando International Airport may have changed the course of history.<\/p>\n
One month before the September 11 attacks, immigration inspector Jos\u00e9 Mel\u00e9ndez P\u00e9rez refused to let a suspicious traveler enter the country.<\/p>\n
That man would later be identified as the suspected twentieth hijacker.<\/p>\n
Channel 9\u2019s Alexa Lorenzo sat down with Mel\u00e9ndez P\u00e9rez as the nation marks 25 years since the attacks.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
9\/11: Orlando inspector recalls turning away suspected 20th hijacker <\/p>\n
When asked whether it feels like 25 years have passed, Mel\u00e9ndez P\u00e9rez said, \u201cIt seems like it was yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Aug. 4, 2001, Mohammed al Qahtani had just arrived at Orlando International Airport from Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n
His passport was valid. So was his visa.<\/p>\n
But he had no return ticket, no place to stay and no clear reason for coming to the United States.<\/p>\n
The veteran immigration inspector had a feeling he could not ignore.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was evil. I could see evil in his eyes,\u201d Mel\u00e9ndez P\u00e9rez said.<\/p>\n
After more questioning, Mel\u00e9ndez P\u00e9rez denied al Qahtani entry and sent him back on the same plane he arrived on.<\/p>\n
But before al Qahtani boarded, he turned and delivered a message. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll be back,\u201d Mel\u00e9ndez P\u00e9rez recalled him saying.<\/p>\n
Thirty-eight days later, America was attacked.<\/p>\n
As a wave of grief swept across the country, a sense of urgency hit Mel\u00e9ndez P\u00e9rez.<\/p>\n
\u201cI called the airport, and I told them to look for the record for Qahtani,\u201d he said. \u201cPlease give it to the FBI. Something clicked.\u201d<\/p>\n
Investigators would later identify al Qahtani as the man believed to be the intended twentieth hijacker, possibly assigned to United Airlines Flight 93.<\/p>\n
It was the only hijacked plane with four terrorists instead of five.<\/p>\n
Passengers fought back, and the plane crashed in a Pennsylvania field before reaching its target of Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n
Mel\u00e9ndez P\u00e9rez received praise when he testified before the 9\/11 Commission in 2004.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour actions may well have contributed to saving the Capitol or the White House,\u201d he was told during the hearing. \u201cAnd for that, we all owe you a debt of thanks and gratitude.\u201d<\/p>\n
More than two decades later, awards and memorabilia adorn the walls of his home. He also often hears the same words from people who recognize him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re my hero. You\u2019re my hero,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
But Mel\u00e9ndez P\u00e9rez still does not accept that title.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have said it so many times, and they want me to believe it,\u201d he said. \u201cBut, you know, I stand with my belief that I was doing my job.\u201d<\/p>\n
The realization of what he may have prevented has never left him.<\/p>\n
Neither has the pain of what he could not prevent.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was hard to see so many people die, jumping from the towers,\u201d Mel\u00e9ndez P\u00e9rez said. \u201cIt was hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
As 25 years pass, what he said he saw in al Qahtani\u2019s eyes that day has not faded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will never forget that face,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Lorenzo asked Mel\u00e9ndez P\u00e9rez whether he believes he was placed in that room, in that moment, for a reason.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, I do believe that,\u201d he said. \u201cNo doubt in my mind. I do believe in God.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked what his prayers were like after September 11, Mel\u00e9ndez P\u00e9rez said he prayed for the victims and their families.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always pray for them, for the families and the ones that died because of some evil people,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause we could have stopped them. We could have stopped them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 9\/11 Commission also found the plot\u2019s leader, Mohamed Atta, was at the Orlando airport that August day and was believed to be waiting for al Qahtani.<\/p>\n
Al Qahtani was captured in Afghanistan in 2001 and held at Guantanamo Bay for more than two decades.<\/p>\n
In 2022, he was transferred back to Saudi Arabia for mental health treatment.<\/p>\n
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