Paul Ciancia, LAX shooter. killed TSA Agent Gerardo Hernandez, may have anti-government motivations
Authorities have identified the LAX shooter and TSA victim killed inside the Los Angeles International Airport early Friday morning.
The FBI has confirmed that Paul Anthony Ciancia, age 23, with ties to California and New Jersey, was the shooter killing the first TSA agent in the line of duty since the agency began in 2001.
Paul Ciancia
Gerardo Hernandez, age 39, was identified as the dead agent, shot and killed during the attack.
While little is known about the motive of Ciancia, ABC is reporting that he had an “anti-government” letter with New World Order and a “disappointment in the government” described in the contents.
noted. The article adds that his family believed him to be suicidal.
A second TSA agent was also shot at LAX, but he has not been identified.
The LA Times summarized the shooting, noting their source:
Shortly after 9 a.m., the man entered the third of LAX’s nine terminals through the main door, pulled an AR-15 rifle out of a bag and “began to open fire,” said Los Angeles World Airports Police Chief Patrick Gannon.
The man walked up one flights of stairs, to the entrance of the security checkpoint; it is there, officials said, where at least three TSA officers were shot. He then entered the airport itself, walking with determination past a candy shop, a newsstand and a bookstore. An airport police officer and sergeant engaged the gunman in a brief gunfight near a food court.
“They hit him multiple times before he went down,” said one law enforcement source. A witness said the gunman was wearing a bulletproof vest.
As the gunfire echoed through the terminal, panic erupted and harrowing screams ricocheted down the corridors.
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