By Brian McBride and Fallan Patterson

Staff writers

Osceola County Fire Rescue Deputy Chief Danny McAvoy said he was watching ESPN Sunday night when a crawl came across the bottom of the screen informing him that Osama bin Laden was killed by a team of Navy Seals.

He was just one of many people in Kissimmee Monday who shared their reactions and even concerns about the execution of bin Laden, the mastermind behind the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil. He was located at a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and was killed by the U.S. forces in a brief  firefight.

McAvoy said he believed the death of the terrorist leader, who created and funded the al Qaeda terror network, which was responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, would create more peace in the world.

“We did exactly what we said we were going to do,” McAvoy said. “I’m proud to be an American.”

Pat Bopp  heard the news Monday morning as she was preparing to board an Amtrak train for a 24-hour ride back to her home in Queens, N.Y., where she suspected friends were celebrating bin Laden’s death at Ground Zero.

“I couldn’t be happier because we’ve been looking for that son-of-a-b----- for years,” Bopp said at the downtown train station, adding three of her nephews are now-retired New York City firefighters who responded to the World Trade Center on 9/11. “I think (the killing) is going to bring the country back together … a sense of pride.”

Abel Exclusa, who owns the Greyhound station on East Dakin Avenue, said Bin Laden’s death was “long overdue.”

“I think it’s going to bring up morale a little in the country,” he said.

But Americans should remain vigilant, Exclusa said, because there are always terrorists looking to move up in the ranks.

“I think we need to be aware of our surroundings in America,” Exclusa said.

But Bopp had a warning for terrorists still at large.

“It might take us a while, but we’ll get you,” she said.

Kissimmee’s Mike Maldonado, a 57-year-old telephone technician, said he was overjoyed at Sunday night’s news because bin Laden’s actions over the last 10 years have, “been personal for me.”

“I was born in Manhattan and was raised in the Bronx,” he said. “September 11 was an attack on my hometown. When I lived there, I always had a premonition about something happening like that in Manhattan, so I never took jobs there that I was offered from time to time.”

He said that while nobody in his immediate family died in the attacks, it was close enough.

“We lost colleagues who were in our phone company union. It’s not personal, but in the union, we’re like family,” he said. “I heard accounts of it from people I know, and it was frightening.”

Wade Osmon was an eighth-grader at Denn John Middle School in Kissimmee on Sept. 11, 2001, when he noticed an abundance of students going home early. The school was not locked down, as schools around the country were, however; Osmon only heard about the terrorist attacks after his parents picked him up early from school.

“It’s great that they found him but I think we spent a lot of money that could have been used elsewhere,” the Valencia Community College student said inside the Hart Memorial Library in downtown Kissimmee.

Osmon said he “absolutely” thinks there will be retaliation from Al Qaeda or another terrorist group.

“You can’t sneeze anymore without somebody doing something,” he said.

Shawna Struck echoed Osmon’s comments about a possible counterattack while leaving lunch with her mother and daughter at Willy’s Weiners in downtown Kissimmee.

“I’m just scared now that the Taliban is going to retaliate,” she said.

Alberto Mendina also was wary about the attack carried out by U.S. forces, saying he thought it “was dangerous” because some Bin Laden supporters might seek revenge.

“They are going to do something about it,” said the Orlando Ale House cook after leaving the library.

Kelly Tredick, Struck’s mother, said that her brother serving in Afghanistan was vindicated and that President Barack Obama has solidified his presidency.

“This validates everything our government stands for,” Tredick said. “It wasn’t so much that they went in and got (bin Laden) but that (U.S. soldiers) didn’t get hurt.”

“This is huge for (Obama),” she said. “This could make or break his political career.”

Some Florida politicians also weighed in on the killing of bin Laden.

“I commend our troops who have brought Osama bin Laden to justice,” Congressman Bill Posey, R-Rockledge, said in a prepared statement. “Hopefully this will help close a very painful chapter in the lives of so many who lost loved ones on Sept. 11, 2001.”

Gov. Rick Scott said the death of bin Laden marked a great victory for Americans and for “freedom-loving people worldwide.”

“ Finally, some degree of justice has been achieved after nearly a decade of death, war and untold sacrifices because of that man. For the loved ones of all those we’ve lost in this war on terror, may this bring some measure of peace,” he said in a press release.“I am so proud of our dedicated military men and women and our intelligence community for not giving up in our pursuit of justice. While threats remain, today the world is a safer place.”

Staff Writer Ken Jackson contributed to this story.