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One killed, seven wounded in LA airport shooting

Source: Agencies | November 2, 2013, Saturday | Online Edition

A gunman opened fire at Los Angeles international airport yesterday morning, killing at least one person and wounding seven others, local authorities confirmed.

The suspect walked calmly to a security check point at Terminal 3, pulled a rifle out of a bag and began shooting at around 9:20 am local time (1620 GMT), Patrick Gannon, chief of the Los Angeles Airport Police Department, told a press conference.

The suspect then proceeded up into the screening area where Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screeners are and continued shooting and went past the screeners and back into the terminal itself, Gannon said.

Gannon said police shot the gunman and took him into custody inside the terminal.

One TSA employee was killed. Six of the seven injured people were taken to hospital, said Interim Los Angeles Fire Chief Jim Featherstone.

At least one victim sent to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center is in critical condition, according to the hospital.

The suspect was later identified as 23-year-old Paul Ciancia, with whom authorities found an anti-government note, local media reported.

Ciancia wrote in the note that he was disappointed with the government and he had no intent to target or harm innocent people.

Ciancia's father said another of his children had received a text message from Paul in reference to taking his own life, according to Pennsville Township Police Chief Allen Cummings.

A Los Angeles police officer at the airport told Xinhua on an anonymous basis that the gunman was allegedly fired by the TSA before he committed the crime. But authorities did not confirm this.

"We believe at this point that there was a lone shooter -- at least right now. (He) was the only person that was armed in this incident," said Gannon.

David Bowdich, FBI special agent in charge, said at the press conference that investigation is going on and there are no additional threats at the airport for the moment.

The terminal was evacuated shortly after the shooting as people scrambled out.

A Xinhua correspondent in Los Angeles saw major roads leading to the airport blocked as police searched the area. For hours, thousands of travelers were stranded at and around the airport without food and water.

The airport is the third largest in the United States and the world's sixth busiest one. Terminal 3 serves the operations for airlines including Allegiant Air, Frontier, JetBlue, Spirit and Virgin America.

A total of 746 flights were affected by the near-shutdown of Los Angeles International Airport in the wake of the shooting, according to Gina Marie Lindsey, head of Los Angeles World Airports.

Some 46 flights were diverted to other airports, Lindsey said, adding that planes at other terminals were being allowed to take off.

Virgin America, JetBlue, Frontier and Allegiant Air have canceled all flights to or from Los Angeles for the rest of the day.

The last shooting incident at the same airport was in July 2002 when an Egyptian-born Irvine resident opened fire at the El Al ticket counter. Two people were killed and several others were injured. The gunman was shot dead by a security officer.

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