That's what they said, with the FBI as their source.
No wonder they sat on the perp's ID all day.
Posted on 07/04/2002 11:06:04 PM PDT by ChicagoRepublican
According to the ticker on top of Ha'aretz the FBI is reporting that the LA Airport gunman was an Egyptian-born resident of Irving, California.
Nah...it was George Bush. It always is. Get with the program.
That's what they said, with the FBI as their source.
No wonder they sat on the perp's ID all day.
The FBI said Friday that the gunman who killed two people at the El Al ticket counter in Los Angeles International Airport was a 41-year-old Egyptian national, who arrived in the U.S. in 1992 and lived in Irvine, California.
FBI officials also said that the gunman, Hesham Mohammed Hadayet, did not utter words during the attack, contradicting earlier eye-witness reports that the gunman shouted "He took my job" during the shooting.
Israeli officials said Thursday that the Los Angeles Airport shooting was a terror attack, but the FBI maintained that there was no reason to believe the incident was an act of terrorism.
The two people killed at the attack at El Al's ticket counter at Los Angeles International Airport were identified as Ya'akov Aminov, 47, and El Al stewardess Vicky Chen, both of them residents of Los Angeles, Israel Radio reported Friday morning.
A spokesman for Governor Gray Davis confirmed that an El Al security guard fatally shot the gunman, who was later found to have been carrying at least one knife.
Contrary to statements by Israeli officials that the shooting was apparently a terrorist attack, a senior FBI official said Friday that the shooting was not an act of terror. "At this point we have no reason to believe this was an act of terrorism," said Ron Iden, assistant director of the Los Angeles FBI office said Friday.
The gunman walked into the terminal Thursday carrying a .45-caliber handgun, 9 mm handgun and a six-inch (15-cm) knife, but had no identification with him, Iden said. The FBI has a preliminary identification of the gunman, but wouldn't release it.
Transportation Minister Ephraim Sneh reiterated Friday that the shooting was an apparent act of terror, saying that the it was a 'logical assumption' that the incident was a terrorist attack, in an interview to CNN.
"Organizations, primarily Islamic extremist organisations, are planning to hit Israeli targets outside [Israel]. And an airport is a preferred target," he told Army Radio on Thursday. "We believe we are talking about a terrorist attack."
Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said that the terrorists deliberately chose the American holiday for their attack. He noted the swift reaction and the courage of the Israeli security agents on the scene and expressed confidence that Israeli and American security services would apprehend those behind the attack.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Yaffa Ben-Ari issued a statement saying: "The terrorists deliberately chose the Fourth of July to carry out their crime on the soil of the United States."
Israeli Consul General-LA Yuval Rotem also said early Friday morning that the shooting appeared to be an act of terror.
Witnesses: Gunman was former El Al employee Workers at the Mexicana airline ticketing counter said that the gunman was a former El Al employee and wore the company's badge during the shooting.
An eye-witness told CNN on Thursday that the gunman shouted "He took my job" before the shooting.
Earlier, CNN identified the gunman as a 52-year-old male. CNN reported that despite the fact that the gunman did not have forms of identification on him, three individual law enforcement officers stated that based on his physical appearance, it appeared that the gunman was an Arab male.
The shootout happened with security on high alert around the country for a possible terrorist attack on the Fourth of July holiday. It sent passengers ducking behind counters and hiding in airport offices.
One person was arrested, police said. The FBI, which is managing the investigation into the incident, said it was not looking for any other suspects.
The seven wounded in the attack at the Tom Bradley international terminal received medical treatment on the scene before being evacauted to hospital. Two of them were El Al employee, the others were passengers, one of whom was a woman who was shot in the leg.
The flight - LY 106 - was due to fly to Tel Aviv with stop over in Toronto. It was due to land in Israel at 4 P.M. Friday. Some 90 passengers were queuing at the ticket counter at the time of the shooting.
New York police commissioner Ray Kelly told CNN that security around Jewish and Israeli facilities in New York was being stepped up in light of the shooting.
Initial reports said a man had walked up to the El Al ticket counter and fired a shot at a clerk, then opened fire on other people in the international terminal.
"The sound was distinctive, there were a lot of shots fired then silence and two more shots," a witness said.
"A lot of people thought it was fireworks and a prank," Thad Weimlein, a witness, told CNN. "It was probably eight to 10 shots. People were hitting the floor."
Army Radio quoted witnesses as saying that the shooting lasted for a total of 40-50 seconds.
Army Radio reported that reaching the ticket counter for Israel's national carrier was simple, and that there were no security checks beforehand.
When did they air this, just in the last few minutes???
Where did you hear that?
In fact the City of Irvine sprang from the mind of the owners of the Irvine Ranch, a descendant of old Spanish land grants. The owner(s) were then likely major Republican party supporters. The owner today IS a major Republican supporter Mr. Donald Bren.
The planned community was designed by a famous architect, and bringing a UC campus was part of the plan. Overall it is a nice place, upper middle class incomes, packed full of professionals including many Asians, various middle easterners, and others.
A good place for Jihadi terrorist cells.
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