Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

LA Shooter Is Egyptian National
AP | 7/05/02

Posted on 07/04/2002 11:53:12 PM PDT by kattracks

LOS ANGELES, Jul 05, 2002 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- An immigrant Egyptian national armed with guns and a knife opened fire Thursday at the Los Angeles International Airport ticket counter of Israeli airline El Al, killing two people before an airline security guard shot him dead.

The gunman was identified as Hesham Mohamed Hadayet, 41, a resident of Irvine, Calif., who came to the United States from Egypt 10 years ago, the FBI announced after an all-day investigation.

The man also goes by the last name Ali, the FBI said. Authorities were searching a townhome in Irvine, in Orange County southeast of Los Angeles, late Thursday.

The gunman walked into the terminal with a .45-caliber handgun, 9 mm handgun and a six-inch knife, but carrying no identification, said Ron Iden, assistant director of the Los Angeles FBI office.

Four others were injured, authorities said. Thousands were evacuated from the international terminal, although the Federal Aviation Administration said domestic arrivals and departures continued to operate normally.

Late Thursday evening, a bomb squad went to a parking garage at the international terminal to inspect a car believed to belong to the gunman, said Los Angeles police spokesman Jason Lee. The garage was evacuated, but the search was only precautionary.

The shootout happened with security on high alert around the country for a possible terrorist attack on July Fourth. It sent passengers ducking behind counters and hiding in airport offices.

Israel's foreign ministry blamed terrorists, but didn't offer any evidence to support the claim.

The suspect had approached another person at the counter and opened fire shortly before noon, said Alex Baez, a police spokesman. An El Al security guard fatally shot the gunman, police said.

Dr. David Parkus, a trauma surgeon from Texas, said he was at the Singapore Airlines counter when he heard a rapid succession of gunshots and saw the gunman wrestling with an airline security guard. A second guard then shot the gunman, Parkus said.

One guard was hit on the forehead with the butt of the gun and cut on his arm; a second guard was cut on the lower back, stabbed in the left thigh, and had a superficial gunshot wound to his right thigh, said Parkus.

Parkus, director of the trauma surgery unit at Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital in Beaumont, Texas, said he helped hold the gunmen as he died, then performed CPR on two people.

One of the victims was Yaakov Aminov, 46, relatives at his Los Angeles home confirmed. He was dropping friends off at the airport, and died of gunshot wounds, hospital officials said.

His brother-in-law, Mark Ezerzer, said Aminov has eight children and that his wife is pregnant.

"He loved people and his home was always open," Ezerzer said. "He was a very honest and a good person."

Aminov, a jewelry shop owner, had taken his friend, Michael Shabtay, to the airport. After being caught in the spray of gunfire, Aminov collapsed in Shabtay's arms, Ezerzer said.

Also fatally shot was a 20-year-old woman. The airline said she was an employee of a company that provides ground services to El Al at Los Angeles airport.

El Al had one flight scheduled out of Los Angeles on Thursday, Flight 106 to Toronto and Tel Aviv, said David Douek, a spokesman for the Israeli consulate here. It was scheduled to depart at 4:10 p.m. In Israel early Friday, El Al said about 10 passengers were checking in for the flight when the attack began and about 80 others already had passed through the area.

Yitzhak Amitai, deputy managing director of the airline, said there had been no warnings of such an attack.

The governor praised the airline's response, saying security agents acted quickly and prevented a greater loss of life.

"Like all Californians, I am outraged and deeply saddened to learn of today's shooting," Gov. Gray Davis said in a statement. "That it happened on the day on which we honor what America stands for - liberty, security and diversity - makes this particularly more tragic."

A witness, Hakin Hasidh, 43, of Dusseldorf, Germany, said he was standing in the line next to the El Al counter. After hearing two shots, he turned and saw the gunman fire at passengers in line.

"The first couple of shots, everybody just stood there, frozen like I was," Hasidh said. "It's really hard to tell whether he was aiming at the counter, at people behind the counter or at people in line."

Vanessa Spinelli was dropping off her aunt for a flight when she heard the gunshots from nearby the El Al counter.

"At first I thought it was firecrackers, said Spinelli, 26, of Los Angeles. "Then everybody started screaming."

Thirty-five flights were delayed, affecting 10,500 passengers, said airport spokesman Paul Heney. Five hours after the shooting, most of the international terminal had reopened. Some 900,000 people had been expected to pass through the airport over the holiday weekend - from Thursday through Sunday.

Greg Warren, a spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation, said the agency will review security procedures to see if something more needs to be done.

El Al, based in Israel, is known as one of the most security-conscious airlines in the world. Its formidable security includes armed guards at check-in, sky marshals and extensive searches of luggage. Passengers are told to arrive three hours ahead of flights to make time for the security checks.

"The terrorists deliberately chose the Fourth of July to carry out their crime on the soil of the United States," Israeli foreign ministry spokeswoman Yaffa Ben-Ari said in a statement.

Last year, an Algerian who trained in terrorist camps financed by Osama bin Laden was convicted of plotting to blow up Los Angeles International at the height of the millennium holiday travel period. Ahmed Ressam had been arrested in Washington state on Dec. 14, 1999, while entering the country from Canada in a car with a trunk full of explosives.

By RYAN PEARSON Associated Press Writer

Copyright 2002 Associated Press, All rights reserved






TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Extended News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS:
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-27 next last

1 posted on 07/04/2002 11:53:12 PM PDT by kattracks
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: kattracks
The gunman was identified as Hesham Mohamed Hadayet, 41, a resident of Irvine, Calif., who came to the United States from Egypt 10 years ago...

Who here is surprised by this?

2 posted on 07/04/2002 11:55:28 PM PDT by Excuse_My_Bellicosity
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: kattracks
If this incident didn't prove the need for armed flight crews and ticket-counter crews, what will?

Had this Arab alien tried this same attack on a U.S. airline, the death toll would have been far higher. By attacking El Al instead, all he got was the Darwin Award for the 21st century and himself killed along with two others.

GUN REVIEWS free from ad-money bias - emphasizing woman-friendliness of tested guns!

3 posted on 07/05/2002 12:05:39 AM PDT by glc1173@aol.com
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Excuse_My_Bellicosity
Hey just because the guy was heavily armed, an Arab, and shot up an EL AL ticket counter doesn't mean he was an Islamic Terrorist (IT). This was just an isolated incident...time to move on.
4 posted on 07/05/2002 12:09:48 AM PDT by gorebegone
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: gorebegone
Right on. I posted this sort of thing on a few of the myriad of threads on this subject. This Arab shows up at the airport packing a piece with extra ammo and shoots up the El Al ticket counter. But nobody in the American press or law enforcement will call it terrorism. They'll pull anything out of their asses to call this something, anything, besides terrorism. What a joke.
5 posted on 07/05/2002 12:16:22 AM PDT by Excuse_My_Bellicosity
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: kattracks
It's WAY past time for our government to start major deportation. So what if it's profiling! How many more attacks are we going to sit on our hands thru?? Wake up, Washington!
6 posted on 07/05/2002 12:26:26 AM PDT by blondee123
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Excuse_My_Bellicosity
Frankly, I'm suprised this hasn't been covered-up further.
7 posted on 07/05/2002 12:36:28 AM PDT by Types_with_Fist
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Types_with_Fist
err.. to many witnesses might be a good reason, but they did wait unil July 5th to tell us. I'm really fed up with all this PC crap. It's going to get alot of Americans killed!
8 posted on 07/05/2002 12:38:45 AM PDT by seeker41
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Excuse_My_Bellicosity
This Arab shows up at the airport packing a piece with extra ammo and shoots up the El Al ticket counter. But nobody in the American press or law enforcement will call it terrorism.

Well, it's either terrorism or a "hate crime." The distinction rests on whether the perpetrator's motives were substantially political or not. If he simply wanted to take out his rage on Israelis, it was a hate crime. If he also wanted to strike at civilians in order to encourage a change in the policies of one or more governments, in furtherance of some cause (e.g., Islamic Fundamentalism), then he was a terrorist. It may be that not all those who hate the Israelis so passionately qualify as terrorists--the label would not seem to fit the Nazis, for example. Homicidal/suicidal maniacs may simply be so filled with hate that they are compelled to act regardless of the consequences.

9 posted on 07/05/2002 12:43:27 AM PDT by sourcery
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: kattracks
Israel's foreign ministry blamed terrorists, but didn't offer any evidence to support the claim.

The guy was not carrying his Official Terrorist Badge, De-coder ring and ID card, so it will be difficult to say for sure. We simply do not know, and it would be presumptuous to hazard a guess considering the lack of direct evidence.

Whatever AP is paying the writer, its too much.

10 posted on 07/05/2002 12:43:29 AM PDT by marron
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: sourcery
Well, it's either terrorism or a "hate crime."

Just think, if Islam wasn't the religion of love, we would be in a world of trouble. Instead of just shooting up airports and blowing up buildings, no telling what they might do.

But considering we were worrying about a 4th of July nuke in LA Harbor, this shootout is pretty small stuff.

11 posted on 07/05/2002 12:49:59 AM PDT by marron
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: blondee123
It's WAY past time for our government to start major deportation. So what if it's profiling! How many more attacks are we going to sit on our hands thru??

My guess; two more 911 size attacks, or 25 of these LAX type attacks.

BTW - I was following the LAX story on the various TV news channels; no one commented on the fact (except here on the Free Republic) that the authorities knew the age of the perp but not the name.

12 posted on 07/05/2002 12:55:32 AM PDT by Tuco-bad
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Yehuda; Alouette; veronica; BenF; Thinkin' Gal; Jeremiah Jr; Prodigal Daughter
>One of the victims was Yaakov Aminov...

Will someone who understands Hebrew please advise the meaning of this name?  It looks a bit like Jacob Faithful, or the reverse, Faithful Jacob.  Am I close?

13 posted on 07/05/2002 1:11:55 AM PDT by 2sheep
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: kattracks
The next step for security is to require all ENTRANTS to air ports to be checked at metal detectors. The inconvenience to the American traveling public will be immense. The loss to travel, airliines, etc. will retard economic recovery.

The time for a rational response to this has long come and gone. CLOSE EVERY MOSQUE. Deport EVERY MUSLIM, "citizen" or not. God knows how many more of these b@stard Islqamic sleepers have been planted here.

God d@mn all Muslims - especially those in America!

14 posted on 07/05/2002 1:34:38 AM PDT by ZULU
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: kattracks
On ABC radio news, they said this guy was offended by overt displays of patriotism. I guess July 4 was just not his day.
15 posted on 07/05/2002 4:34:19 AM PDT by Dialup Llama
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Excuse_My_Bellicosity
I'm not surprised at all. In this post less than 30 minutes after seeing it on the news, I predicted it was an Arab Extremist Muslim and cited why.

It's time to deport them all. Wake up US Government!! We are under attack from within. How many more American deaths post 9/11/2001 will it take before this Government gets it?!

16 posted on 07/05/2002 4:59:51 AM PDT by usconservative
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: kattracks
"Gov. Gray Davis said in a statement. "That it happened on the day on which we honor what America stands for - liberty, security and diversity - makes this particularly more tragic." ...

Seems like the real foreigner is Gov. Davis. I always associated America standing for "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness".

This is now changed in the Demo Gay agenda to "Liberty, Security, and Diversity". I guess this means Gov Davis can opt to wear a pink security uniform on Monday, a taupe uniform on Tuesday, a cute beret on Wed. and lament about violence on Thursday behind his security guards.

The more quotes I hear from Davis, the more convinced I am that he's a actually a flaming closet queen.

17 posted on 07/05/2002 5:09:41 AM PDT by Cvengr
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Cvengr
Yeah, that statement made me shake my head. America stands for diversity???? REALLY?!? That's a new one on me.
18 posted on 07/05/2002 5:19:00 AM PDT by Anamensis
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: Cvengr
The more quotes I hear from Davis, the more convinced I am that he's a actually a flaming closet queen.

You're just now figuring it out? Sheesh, one look at the guy (his thin, emaciated look ala Gary Condit, stiff hair that doesn't bend in the wind from all the hairspray) told me the guy was a flaming closet homo.

If Californian's don't vote this guy out in November, I'm starting a petition to kick California out of the union.

19 posted on 07/05/2002 5:21:03 AM PDT by usconservative
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: Tuco-bad
...or 25 of these LAX type attacks.

Don't worry; I think we'll see much more than that.

20 posted on 07/05/2002 5:23:09 AM PDT by He Rides A White Horse
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-27 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson