Members of the community gathered on the steps of Cranston High School East on Saturday morning to mark the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Cranston Public Schools staff and students, including East’s JROTC cadets, took part alongside personnel and honor guards from the city’s Police and Fire departments and others.

“We must not forget the lives that were lost on that day, and we must not forget how we rallied together as one nation as a result,” Mayor Ken Hopkins said during his remarks.

The ceremony, which began at 8:30 a.m., concluded just before 8:46 a.m., the time the first plane struck the World Trade Center in New York City on 9/11.

Cranston East social studies teacher Christopher Ougheltree said the attendance at the ceremony demonstrated what makes the city special. He also said that once the ceremony concluded, a number of volunteer students were going to Bain for community service projects.

“Any time we call for the community to come together, you come together. You support your youth, you support your community, and it really does show,” he said.

(Herald photos)