|
|
|||
|
|||
|
|
LAX Gunman Identified as Egyptian Immigrant NewsMax WiresLOS ANGELES -- The gunman who opened fire inside Los Angeles International Airport killing two people and injuring several others was tentatively identified late Thursday as an Egyptian immigrant who lived in Southern California for 10 years and did not appear to have any connections to Middle East terrorist groups. The FBI said in a statement that the suspect, who was killed by security personnel as he fired into the crowd at the El Al airlines ticket counter, was Hessan Mohammad Hadayat, 41, a resident of Irvine who moved to the United States from Egypt in 1992. The motive for the shootings, which left a ticket agent and a businessman dead and six others injured, remained a mystery early Friday as police and the FBI tried to unravel the motive behind the shootings and whether or not the incident was linked to terrorism. "We're looking at it as an isolated incident, but once we establish his identity ... we will know more," Los Angeles Police spokesman Sgt. John Pasquariello told reporters as bomb squad experts inspected a car in an airport parking garage believed to belong to Hadayat. Pasquariello said the bomb squad was a precaution in the event the vehicle was booby-trapped or contained explosives. Hadayat reportedly was carrying two handguns -- a .45 caliber, which he used in the shootings, and a 9mm handgun. He also had a 6-inch knife when he appeared at the Israeli airline's ticket counter in the Tom Bradley International Terminal and, for reasons still unknown, began shooting. Police at the scene said the gunman did not carry any identification and apparently did not have an airline ticket. There were conflicting reports late Thursday as to whether or not the suspect said anything. Some witnesses reported seeing the man argue with an El Al employee, but Pasquariello said other witnesses, whom he described as their "best," told investigators that no words were exchanged. Airports across the United States increased security following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, and law enforcement agencies had been on heightened alert over the Fourth of July holiday. Terrorism Not Ruled Out Police and federal authorities said Thursday that while an act of terrorism could not be ruled out, there was no indication the attack had been engineered by al-Qaeda or any other extremist group and there were no immediate claims of credit from the Middle East. Israeli officials were less conservative and stated that an attack on El Al, which has one of the strictest airline security programs in the world, should be assumed to be the work of pro-Palestinian militants. The airline was repeatedly targeted by hijackers and terrorists during the late 1960s and 1970s. "It seems like a terrorist attack and it looks like a terrorist attack," said Yuval Rotem, the Israeli Counsel-General in Los Angeles. Israeli Transportation Minister Ephraim Sneh scoffed at what he saw as the downplaying of the possibility of terrorism, calling it "infuriating" in a telephone interview with United Press International. "Every day we are being slaughtered so when fire is opened, one must look for different reasons?" he asked. The victims in the attack were reportedly all Israeli citizens. One of the deceased was identified as Jakov Aminov, 46, an Israeli émigré from the San Fernando Valley. The other person killed, a woman in her 20s who was apparently an El Al employee, was not identified, pending notification of the family. The six injured included two who were transported in critical condition and another who was stabbed in the struggle to subdue the suspect. Copyright 2002 by United Press International. All rights reserved.
Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
A product that might interest you:
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
| All Rights Reserved © 2012 NewsMax.Com |