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Passenger killed by air marshal
Yahoo news ^ | 12/7/05

Posted on 12/07/2005 2:21:03 PM PST by KeyLargo

Passenger killed by air marshal

An American Airlines passenger who claimed to be carrying a bomb was shot and killed by an air marshal while trying to flee a plane arriving from Medellin, Colombia, at Miami International Airport on Wednesday, U.S. officials said.

"Shots were fired as the team attempted to subdue the subject," a U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesman said.

The passenger was a 44-year-old U.S. citizen, the spokesman said.

A law enforcement official said "no device has been located at this time."

The incident took place as American Airlines flight 924 arrived from Medellin for a stopover in Miami en route to Orlando, Florida.

The DHS spokesman said the passenger indicated during the flight that there was a bomb in a carry-on bag and upon landing immediately exited the aircraft through the jetway ramp at Gate D42. Air marshals pursued and ordered the passenger to get down on the ground.

"The passenger then reached into his carry-on bag, at which point, consistent with air marshal training, the air marshals took the appropriate actions. Shots were fired as the team attempted to subdue the subject," the spokesman said.

American Airlines spokesman Tim Smith confirmed: "There was an incident on the jet bridge on one of our aircraft in Miami."

The flight, a Boeing 757, arrived from Medellin, at 12:16 p.m. (1716 GMT).The flight was due to leave for Orlando at 2:18 p.m. (1918 GMT).

This was thought to be the first time an air marshal has fired weapon on or near a plane, said Joseph Gutheinz, a former military pilot and attorney who has worked in aviation security.

"I believe this is the first time they've ever discharged a weapon. I am 100 percent sure they have never had an incident like this before," he said.

A Miami International Airport spokesman said Concourse D had been evacuated but the incident did not affect incoming or outgoing flights. It was reopened shortly after 3 p.m. (2000

GMT).

(Reporting by Debbie Charles in Washington and Michael Christie in Miami)

Copyright © 2005 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Copyright 2005 © Yahoo! Inc. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Send Feedback | Help


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; US: Florida; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: airmarshall; airmarshals; alpizar; bang; doasearchwillya; flight924
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To: KeyLargo
The ACLU phones are probably ringing off the hook right now.

I smell about a dozen wrongful death suits in the making......"Trigger happy Air Marshall shoots unarmed mentally ill passenger"
61 posted on 12/07/2005 3:54:35 PM PST by stm
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To: Revolting cat!

'I hef a-bomp'

LOL. That's very clever!


62 posted on 12/07/2005 4:04:02 PM PST by wolficatZ (Jonathan Quayle Higgins III - "Zeus...Apollo...Patrol!"....)
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To: KeyLargo
Don't mess with a marshal.


63 posted on 12/07/2005 4:04:06 PM PST by Semi Civil Servant
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To: KeyLargo

Kinda wonder if perhaps this guy hadn't swallowed one or more condoms filled with cocaine and one of the broke, flooding his system with the drug. His actions sound consistent with a cocaine overdose.

Just a random thought.


64 posted on 12/07/2005 4:04:59 PM PST by jwpjr
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To: Semi Civil Servant
Don't mess with a marshal.


65 posted on 12/07/2005 4:08:14 PM PST by Revolting cat! ("In the end, nothing explains anything.")
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To: ConservativeMajority
The air marshals launched a pre-emptive strike against a threat based on the best information available.

Good summary.

66 posted on 12/07/2005 4:09:13 PM PST by syriacus (People who seem "nutty" can STILL be dangerous bombers -- Edw. Leary firebombed NYC subway 1994)
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To: KeyLargo

never bring a bomb threat to a gun fight


67 posted on 12/07/2005 4:09:16 PM PST by vigilante2 (proud parent of a soldier)
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To: Vaquero

Wife says he was bi-polar would that cause you to say you have a bomb and run?

Point of story:

Muslims now know - bother a flight - die.

enuff said


68 posted on 12/07/2005 4:09:50 PM PST by edcoil (Reality doesn't say much - doesn't need too)
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To: commonasdirt

Thanks for the summary of DU postings.


69 posted on 12/07/2005 4:11:17 PM PST by syriacus (People who seem "nutty" can STILL be dangerous bombers -- Edw. Leary firebombed NYC subway 1994)
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Let's just hope the Marshall is congratulated and rewarded in some way for a job well done.


70 posted on 12/07/2005 4:15:56 PM PST by IntheHillsGolden
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To: edcoil
It was pretty clear that this sort of crap was a death sentence last summer when the guy was beaten to death by passengers after he rushed the cockpit -- no air marshals needed.
71 posted on 12/07/2005 4:23:10 PM PST by MediaMole
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To: KeyLargo

The passenger shot and killed had arrived earlier in Miami on a flight from Quito, Ecuador. He then cleared U.S. Customs and was boarding the flight to Orlando, federal officials said... Airline spokeswoman Martha Pantin said that, before the incident, all passengers on the flight from Medellin had cleared customs at MIA, even if they were continuing on to Orlando.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/living/travel/13351198.htm

I am not so sure I believe the air marshalls' story so far.

After the marshals confronted the man aboard the plane, the passenger dashed down the aisle and out the door of the aircraft -- the air marshals in pursuit as he headed through a tunnel linking the Boeing 757 with boarding gate D-42 in Concourse D. ''The passenger immediately fled through the jetway and was running toward the terminal,'' said Gonzalez. ``The air marshals were in pursuit and ordered the subject down on the ground.''

Then, she said, the man ``appeared to be reaching into the carry on bag.''

''At that point, the marshals took appropriate action,'' she said. ``And the shots were fired.''

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/living/travel/13351198.htm

So, when the passenger and air marshalls are off the plane in the jetway, the man - according to air marshalls, says he has a bomb.

this is the point where I become skeptical.

The air marshalls first must mistrust the security system, that is, the man - according to air marshalls - claims he has a bomb - reaches toward his backpack - and the air marshalls believe him. Therefore, air marshalls do not trust the security system. Why do they allow anybody to board an airplane if they don't trust the security is good enough to detect a hidden bomb?

Next, the air marshalls must think a terrorist will first board the plane, then instead of waiting until after takeoff to detonate the bomb, the terrorist will get off the plane before it takes off, and when cornered in an enclosed jetway where there are no security cameras, threaten he has a bomb.

It all just doesn't sound logical.

It doesn't even sound like a poor movie.

We will never really know whether the man "muttered" (Nancy Grace progRam 8 pm EST) he had a bomb or not. We will never know whether air marshalls tripped, set off a shot, and another air marshall fired a shot, or likely even how many times the passenger was shot. (PASSENGER: heard 3 shots) We will never know if air marshalls were telling the truth, or not.


72 posted on 12/07/2005 5:08:00 PM PST by dreamspyrt
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To: dreamspyrt
Why do they allow anybody to board an airplane if they don't trust the security is good enough to detect a hidden bomb?

This is true. And this question was posted on other threads as well. It could be that the Air Marshalls were simply reacting to the situation at the moment without stopping to consider that this man had to go thru security to get on board in the first place.

So then are we (the average flying public) to surmise that IF the Marshalls thought that he did have a bomb despite the stringent security/customs checkpoints, that there is material out there that can pass through security undetected and blow up an airliner?

Makes you go, "Hmmmm....."

73 posted on 12/07/2005 7:01:06 PM PST by peteram
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To: peteram

Reports are there is going to be an investigation and hearing. Hopefully, it will all be thorough, and eyewitness testimony of other passengers won't be suppressed.


74 posted on 12/07/2005 8:20:02 PM PST by dreamspyrt
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