Posted on 12/07/2005 4:43:31 PM PST by ConservativeMind
MIAMI (AP) - An agitated passenger who claimed to have a bomb in his backpack was shot and killed by a federal air marshal Wednesday after he bolted frantically from a jetliner that was about to take off, officials said. No bomb was found.
The man, identified as Rigoberto Alpizar, a 44-year-old U.S. citizen, was gunned down on a jetway just before the American Airlines plane was about to leave for Orlando, near his home in Maitland.
It was the first time since the Sept. 11 attacks that an air marshal had shot at anyone, Homeland Security Department spokesman Brian Doyle said.
According to a witness, the man frantically ran down the aisle of the Boeing 757, flailing his arms, while his wife tried to explain that he was mentally ill and had not taken his medication.
The passenger indicated there was a bomb in his bag and was confronted by air marshals but ran off the aircraft, Doyle said. The marshals went after him and ordered him to get down on the ground, but he did not comply and was shot when he apparently reached into the bag, Doyle said.
The plane, Flight 924, had arrived in Miami from Medellin, Colombia, just after noon, and the shooting occurred shortly after 2 p.m. as the plane was about to take off for Orlando with the man and 119 other passengers and crew, American spokesman Tim Wagner said. Alpizar had arrived in Miami earlier in the day from Ecuador, authorities said.
After the shooting, investigators spread passengers' bags on the tarmac and let dogs sniff them for explosives, and bomb squad members blew up at least two bags.
No bomb was found, said James E. Bauer, agent in charge of the Federal Air Marshals field office in Miami. He said there was no reason to believe there was any connection to terrorists.
The concourse where the shooting took place was shut down for a half-hour, but the rest of the airport continued operating, officials said.
Mary Gardner, a passenger aboard the Orlando-bound flight, told WTVJ-TV in Miami that the man ran down the aisle from the rear of the plane. "He was frantic, his arms flailing in the air," she said. She said a woman followed, shouting, "My husband! My husband!"
Gardner said she heard the woman say her husband was bipolar - a mental illness also known as manic-depression - and had not had his medication.
Gardner said four to five shots were fired. She could not see the shooting.
After the shooting, police boarded the plane and told the passengers to put their hands on their heads, Gardner said.
"It was quite scary," she told the TV station via a cell phone. "They wouldn't let you move. They wouldn't let you get anything out of your bag."
There were only 33 air marshals at the time of the Sept. 11 attacks. The Bush administration hired thousands more afterward, but the exact number is classified.
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Associated Press writers Mark Sherman and Lara Jakes Jordan in Washington contributed to this report.
Supposedly Air Marshalls are the best shots in the service.
However, one of the little reported on facts of this case are that the "victim" had his backpack on backwards wearing it on his chest. That alone would draw my suspicion.
its getting to the point where i have agree theres a whole lot of morons around. i see more and more of them each day. it has gotten to the point where we can not take chances with wondering if someone has a gun, a bomb etc. i would rather see one person dead then take the chance a whole plane load of people would be dead. this is a sad story but i blame the wife the most. she knew her husband the best & she should have told the airlines he had problems & she should of made sure he was sane enough to fly. i feel for the air marshall & his family.
The fact that she wasn't shot as well speaks a great deal of the professionalism exhibited by the air marshals in this situation.
I may have taken both of them out...the suspected terrorist, and the diversion.
Which one was which to be sorted out after the passengers had been safely removed.
Dude, you're ruining everyone's Dirty Harry fantasies with talk like that. Let them have their fun until Mommy tells them to get off that damn computer.
You still don't get it...
I never stated that the shooting was improper...
You're having an argument with yourself...and it's quite amusing....
Hey, you wouldn't be bi-polar, are you?
i dont think your comment is too amusing . i dont happen to be bi polar but some people are and could be offended. it was uncalled for and not funny.
If you were offended by by innocuous post then you are definitely on the wrong forum.....
Try reading back to the beginning of my posts on the thread before being judgemental....
Ooohhh...JudgeMENTAL....that didn't offend you, did it?
actually i think its best just to ignore you & your judgeMENTAL comments
ps dont tell me where i belong either ....
You're probably a very nice person...but I do believe you are way to sensitive to post in this forum on controversial issues......
Try lurking for a while on these issues and posting on the less inflamed more topical posts....
Just a suggestion...
thanks for the advice but i dont lurk and i shall do as i please merry christmas to you
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