Free Republic

A passenger on Flight 924 gives his account of the shooting and says Rigoberto Alpizar never claimed to have a bomb By SIOBHAN MORRISSEY/MIAMI At least one passenger aboard American Airlines Flight 924 maintains the federal air marshals were a little too quick on the draw when they shot and killed Rigoberto Alpizar as he frantically attempted to run off the airplane shortly before take-off. "I don't think they needed to use deadly force with the guy," says John McAlhany, a 44-year-old construction worker from Sebastian, Fla. "He was getting off the plane." McAlhany also maintains that Alpizar never mentioned...

MIAMI -- A passenger who claimed to have a bomb in a carry-on bag was shot and killed by a federal air marshal today on a jetway connected to an American Airlines plane that had arrived from Colombia, officials said. Cable News Network reported the deceased is a 44-year-old U.S. citizen. A law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed shots were fired from the marshal's gun. The airline said the confrontation was on a jetway. A second federal law enforcement official, who also spoke only on condition of anonymity because the investigation still was unfolding, said the...