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.
from Ha'aretz
Whatever happened to "Islam is peace?"
Time for the President to finally call a spade a spade, and deal with the foreign-born Moslem non-citizens... get them gone.
So are you, very much a joke. Your analysis sucks. Any body that was going to do anything for the 4th was already out of the house and doing it. Only home bound news hounds hoping for something to happen so they could bemoan it and blame the FBI for not entertaining them were watching the news conferences.
I still dont think this event today had anything to do with al-Qaeda or terrorism. I dont care if the guy was an arab. So what. They cant go postal too? If al-Qaeda is so stupid as to send one nut to to the EL Al ticket counter with a 45 and a 9mm for their big event, pardon me if I dont cower in fear, geez this is laughable. While its sad for the families of those killed, more people are killed in random acts of violence any day of the week in LA.
by Anat Cygielman and Benny Landau, Ha'aretz Correspondents, Ha'aretz Service and agencies
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 Mohamed 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.
On Thursday, Transportation Minister Ephraim Sneh said that the shooting was believed to be a terrorist attack.
"Organizations, primarily Islamic extremist organisations, are planning to hit Israeli targets outside [Israel]. And an airport is a preferred target," he told Army Radio. "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.
KNBC in LA reported that he may have used an alias, Hachem Mohamed Ali, if I heard it correctly. They displayed a picture of him, but it hasn't hit the wires yet.
Albeit too many blonde, blue eyed Bosnian Muslums running around America for anyone to put just Arab types in their sights. The El Al security troop's solution was/is the answer.
Quick , accurate stopping hits with a major caliber sidearm when one encounters such trash who has no value for lives, even his/her own.......accomodate them by killing them as they appear.
Stay Safe !
The Dow Jones news service, quoting the FBI, says he was Hefman Mohamed Hadayet. He came to the U-S in 1992 and is believed to have lived in Irvine, California.The FBI plans a news conference shortly to discuss its investigation.
Three people including the gunman died in the attack at an Israeli airline ticket counter. Thousands of holiday travelers were evacuated.
(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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