A California woman who unknowingly provided rental housing to two of the Sept. 11 terrorists is speaking out about how the hijackers ingrained themselves into her community, describing them as "very, very friendly" neighbors.
Holly Ratchford, who managed the Parkwood Apartments in the San Diego area, rented units to Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar. The pair were part of the five-man team that hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 and crashed it into the Pentagon, killing 184 people.
"It wasn’t like they were just someone that came into the office and rented from us," Ratchford told the BBC in her first public comments since the attacks. "There was absolutely nothing unusual about them. They were nice, they were polite."
Ratchford was introduced to al-Hazmi and al-Mihdhar by Omar al-Bayoumi, a Saudi national who moved into the complex in 1999. Al-Bayoumi's connections to the Saudi government are central to a lawsuit filed by families of 9/11 victims, who allege the Saudi government's complicity in the attacks.
Al-Bayoumi, who Ratchford believed was a student, also deceived her about his government ties. "I bought into everything that he told me," she said. "I really thought that’s how he was."
Al-Bayoumi, who had a townhouse by the pool, regularly attended parties Ratchford hosted. "He was always so bubbly and smiling," Ratchford recalled, calling him "very, very friendly."
According to Ratchford's account, al-Bayoumi vouched for al-Hazmi and al-Mihdhar when they initially tried to rent a one-bedroom apartment with cash, stating he knew them from his mosque. However, investigators believe al-Bayoumi was an operative for Saudi intelligence.
Richard Lambert, who led the city's FBI office investigation after 9/11, told the BBC that there was a "general consensus of people in the San Diego Muslim community that Bayoumi was an operative of the Saudi intelligence service."
Al-Bayoumi also possessed a sketchbook containing a drawing of a plane and an equation. He co-signed the rental agreement for the two men and assisted them in setting up a bank account. The FBI reported that al-Bayoumi claimed he met al-Hazmi and al-Mihdhar by chance at a Middle Eastern restaurant in Los Angeles. The FBI also stated he was being paid by a contractor for the Saudi Civil Aviation Authority.
Some of Ratchford's statements appear to contradict al-Bayoumi's claims to British authorities after 9/11, where he distanced himself from the two hijackers. Ratchford maintains that al-Bayoumi and the hijackers were "definitely friendly."
Al-Bayoumi was not charged with a crime and moved to Saudi Arabia in 2002. An FBI report released in 2021 indicated that al-Bayoumi stated he met al-Hazmi and al-Mihdhar by chance, but one source in the report said al-Bayoumi held "very high status" within the Saudi consulate in Los Angeles.
In 2024, a video clip surfaced showing al-Bayoumi filming the U.S. Capitol and referencing a "plan." This footage was unsealed and released in connection with the lawsuit by 9/11 victims' families.
Attorneys for the families continue to pursue compensation, arguing that the Saudi government should be held liable due to al-Bayoumi's role. Riyadh has categorically denied any involvement in the attacks and is contesting the families' claims in court. In 2025, a federal judge ruled that 9/11 families could proceed with their trial, citing circumstantial evidence suggesting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia assisted the hijackers, drawing an inference that the government had employed al-Bayoumi.