2013 Los Angeles International Airport Shooting
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On November 1, 2013, a terrorist attack occurred at around 9:20 a.m. PDT in Terminal 3 of the
Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...
. Twenty-three-year old Paul Anthony Ciancia opened fire with a rifle, killing a
Transportation Security Administration The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that has authority over the security of transportation systems within, and connecting to the United States. It was created ...
officer and injuring several other people.


Shooting

On the morning of Friday, November 1, 2013, Ciancia entered Terminal 3 of
Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...
after being dropped off there by a roommate. He was carrying a bag filled with a semiautomatic, .223-caliber Smith & Wesson M&P-15 rifle, five 30-round magazines, and hundreds of additional rounds of ammunition contained in boxes.Los Angeles Airport Police The Los Angeles Airport Police Division (sometimes known as LAWAPD or LAXPD) is the airport police division of Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), the city department that owns and operates two airports in Southern California: Los Angeles Inter ...
"/> Walking up to a TSA checkpoint, he pulled the rifle out of the bag and opened fire, shooting TSA Officer Gerardo Hernandez in the chest at point-blank range. He then went up an escalator, but returned to the checkpoint and shot Hernandez again after seeing him move. Ciancia then moved up the escalator into the TSA screening area, passed the checkpoint area, and moved farther into the secure airside area of the terminal. At the time, many people fled by going into the concourse area or through doors leading into the airfield. Others ran into the restaurant where staff locked the metal security doors and ordered customers to take cover under the restaurant's tables. Entering the concourse area, Ciancia continued firing, wounding two TSA agents and a passenger. People hiding in the concourse area then fled the terminal through street exits.Los Angeles Airport Police The Los Angeles Airport Police Division (sometimes known as LAWAPD or LAXPD) is the airport police division of Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), the city department that owns and operates two airports in Southern California: Los Angeles Inter ...
"/> One witness, interviewed on
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...
, said the gunman was walking, not running, down the terminal's concourse, and actor
Tim Daly James Timothy Daly (born March 1, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Joe Hackett on the NBC sitcom ''Wings'' and his voice role as Clark Kent/Superman in '' Superman: The Animated Series'', as well as his recurring role as ...
reported hearing shooting while in the
Virgin America Virgin America Inc. was a low-cost U.S. airline that operated from 2007 until 2018, when it was acquired by Alaska Airlines. The airline primarily focused on operating low-fare service between cities on the West Coast and other major metropoli ...
's "The Loft" lounge. According to several witnesses, Ciancia repeatedly asked passersby if they were TSA agents and then moved on without shooting when they said no. At 9:20 a.m., the first calls to
9-1-1 , usually written 911, is an emergency telephone number for the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Palau, Argentina, Philippines, Jordan, as well as the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), one of eight N11 codes. Like other emergency nu ...
were made, followed by the arrival of the first LAX officers two minutes later.Los Angeles Airport Police The Los Angeles Airport Police Division (sometimes known as LAWAPD or LAXPD) is the airport police division of Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), the city department that owns and operates two airports in Southern California: Los Angeles Inter ...
"/> Ciancia made it as far as the end of the terminal in the
food court A food court (in Asia-Pacific also called food hall or hawker centre) is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food vendors and provides a common area for self-serve dinner. I ...
, where LAX police officers confronted him and shot him in a gunfight. He was wounded four times by gunshots and captured before being transported via ambulance to a nearby trauma hospital. Witnesses saw a rifle with three magazines nearby on the floor of the waiting area near gates 35 and 36. Police were unsure whether the terminal was safe for paramedics to enter, and as a result Hernandez lay wounded about 20 feet from an exit without medical attention for 33 minutes. He bled out from his gunshot wounds before being put in a wheelchair and removed from the terminal.


Victims


Fatality

The gunman shot TSA Officer Gerardo I. Hernandez, age 39, at the airport. Hernandez was pronounced dead after arriving at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, although coroner officials asserted that he was dead within a few minutes of getting shot. Hernandez is the first TSA officer in the twelve-year history of the agency to have been killed on the job. A behavior detection officer, Hernandez had immigrated to the United States from
El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...
at age 15.


Injuries

Seven victims were treated at the scene. Three victims were wounded by gunfire, including two TSA officers, identified as 54-year-old James Speer and 36-year-old Tony Grigsby; Grigsby was shot in the foot. The third shooting victim was 29-year-old Brian Ludmer, a schoolteacher from
Lake Forest, Illinois Lake Forest is a city located in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 19,367. The city is along the shore of Lake Michigan, and is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the North Shore. Lake Forest ...
, who was shot in the leg. Six victims were transported to area hospitals, including three men, two of whom had suffered gunshot wounds, who were treated at
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center (also commonly referred to as ''UCLA Medical Center'', "RRMC" or "Ronald Reagan") is a hospital located on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles, in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, United ...
. Some of the injuries were confirmed to have been caused by other factors, not gunshot wounds. Ciancia was shot four times, including wounds in the head and leg, by law enforcement in the food court area of Terminal 3 and was in critical condition. The officers kicked the rifle away from him. He was then transported to a local trauma hospital via ambulance. Video from
KCAL-TV KCAL-TV (channel 9) is an independent television station in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is owned by the CBS News and Stations group alongside CBS West Coast flagship KCBS-TV (channel 2). Both stations share studios at the C ...
shows Ciancia brought into the hospital from an ambulance, surrounded by multiple police officers, while handcuffed to a
gurney A stretcher, gurney, litter, or pram is an apparatus used for moving patients who require medical care. A basic type (cot or litter) must be carried by two or more people. A wheeled stretcher (known as a gurney, trolley, bed or cart) is often ...
.


Perpetrator

Paul Anthony Ciancia, age 23 at the time of the shooting, perpetrated the attack. An unemployed car mechanic, he lived in the Sun Valley neighborhood of
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
and grew up in
Pennsville, New Jersey Pennsville Township is a township in Salem County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 13,409, reflecting an increase of 215 (+1.6%) from the 13,194 counted in the 2000 census. The townshi ...
. In 2008, Ciancia graduated from
Salesianum School Salesianum School is a Catholic independent school for boys located in Wilmington, Delaware. It is run independently within the Diocese of Wilmington and is operated by the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales. The current enrollment is about 930 st ...
. After the shooting ended, Ciancia was found to be carrying a note stating that he "wanted to kill TSA" and describing them as "pigs". It also mentioned "
fiat currency Fiat money (from la, fiat, "let it be done") is a type of currency that is not backed by any commodity such as gold or silver. It is typically designated by the issuing government to be legal tender. Throughout history, fiat money was sometime ...
" and "NWO", the latter likely being a reference to the New World Order conspiracy theory. On the day of the shooting and before Ciancia was identified as the suspect, the
LAPD The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...
went to his residence when concerned family members wanted to file a missing persons report after not having heard from him after repeated attempts to make contact. Ciancia was not at home at the time and his roommates told them that he had been there earlier in the day. The police left and could not file a report, because they had no confirmation on where he was. Ciancia had talked about taking his own life a few days earlier. According to reports, on the day of the shooting, Ciancia burst into the room of an unidentified roommate and demanded him to drive him to the airport immediately, and the roommate, not sensing any intention of committing violence, agreed to do so. Days prior to the shooting, Ciancia had begun asking for a ride to the airport so he could fly back to New Jersey, claiming that his father was ill.


Aftermath


Immediate reaction

Los Angeles Airport Police The Los Angeles Airport Police Division (sometimes known as LAWAPD or LAXPD) is the airport police division of Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), the city department that owns and operates two airports in Southern California: Los Angeles Inter ...
evacuated several terminals and searched for any other possible suspects. They searched in cars with armed officers and a bomb-sniffing dog at the nearby parking garages that are connected to airport terminals by pedestrian bridges. The
Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...
grounded all outbound flights at the airport. Runways 24L and 24R were shut down. Terminals 1, 2, and 3 were shut down and the 300 passengers were evacuated from these terminals to the Tom Bradley International Terminal for questioning, and then were re-screened as they exited the international terminal. Airlines diverted some flights to other airports in the
Greater Los Angeles Area Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Coun ...
. Most were directed to
Ontario International Airport Ontario International Airport is an international airport two miles east of downtown Ontario, California, Ontario, in San Bernardino County, California, United States, about east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino. It ...
, and others to
Long Beach Airport Long Beach Airport is a public airport three miles northeast of downtown Long Beach, in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is also called Daugherty Field, named after local aviator Earl Daugherty. The airport was an operating base ...
. Most of the diverted flights were originally scheduled to taxi to gates at Terminals 1, 2, and 3. Over 1,500 flights and 171,000 passengers were affected by the incident.Los Angeles Airport Police The Los Angeles Airport Police Division (sometimes known as LAWAPD or LAXPD) is the airport police division of Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), the city department that owns and operates two airports in Southern California: Los Angeles Inter ...
"/> Later that afternoon, Ciancia's family released a statement, saying that they were "shocked and numbed" by his actions and also expressing their sympathies to the family of Gerardo Hernandez, and also to the wounded victims.


Security and emergency response

In the wake of the shooting, ongoing debates over the effectiveness of airport security were reignited, with several suggestions being made about arming TSA officers with guns. In response to these suggestions, TSA Administrator John S. Pistole commented, " fficer safetyis something we have dealt with really since the standup of TSA, knowing that in many respects TSA employees are the first line of defense when it comes to airport security particularly. And so given this tragedy, we will obviously look at and review our policies with airport police both here at LAX and of course around the country."
Tom Ridge Thomas Joseph Ridge (born August 26, 1945) is an American politician and author who served as the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security from 2001 to 2003, and the first United States Secretary of Homeland Security from 2003 to 2005. ...
, the former secretary for the
United States Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the Federal government of the United States, U.S. United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the I ...
, criticized the suggestion of arming TSA officers, calling it a "big mistake" and saying, "You have literally hundreds and hundreds of armed police officers roaming every major airport in America. And I don't think arming another 40 or 50 or 60 thousand people ... would have prevented this incident from happening." On January 22, 2014, it was revealed that the two unarmed officers assigned to the area had gone on a break at the time of the shooting, without carrying out the requirement of informing a dispatcher, with one being at the bathroom of an adjacent terminal. In response to the new details, airport police union chief Marshall McClain stated that the two officers were still capable of quickly responding to the shooting, adding, "I want to make sure that in any terminal, there's always somebody there, that a bathroom break doesn't result in somebody, even for a few minutes, being out of the action." On March 18, 2014, a released 83-page report highlighted flaws in various divisions and current systems of the airport, adding that emergency response had been hindered by "communication problems and poor coordination". The report also laid out an estimated 50 recommendations, including one for training airport police to be trained in tactical medicine and for training paramedics to enter more dangerous zones earlier with the protection of law enforcement. In addition, it was critical of the current airport emergency management program, saying that it was "not well-defined or widely understood across the agency, or perhaps even respected". It was also reported that at the time of the shooting, a union representing the airport's lower-level employees was not trained for an evacuation and did not know what to do or how to help passengers. Jeffrey David Cox Sr., the president of the
American Federation of Government Employees The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is an American labor union representing over 670,000 employees of the federal government, about 5,000 employees of the District of Columbia, and a few hundred private sector employees, mostly ...
, called the lack of coordination "absolutely unacceptable" and criticized the report as being incomplete and failing to note the two airport officers who were not on their shifts at the time of the shooting. On June 6, 2014, Rep. Richard Hudson (R, NC-8) introduced the Gerardo Hernandez Airport Security Act of 2014 (H.R. 4802; 113th Congress) in response to the findings about events of the shooting. The bill would direct the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through the
Transportation Security Administration The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that has authority over the security of transportation systems within, and connecting to the United States. It was created ...
, to undertake a variety of activities aimed at enhancing security at airports where TSA performs oversees security-related activities. The bill would require TSA to verify that all such airports have plans in place for responding to security threats and to provide technical assistance as necessary to improve such plans. H.R. 4802 also would require TSA to disseminate information on best practices for addressing security threats and ensure that all screening personnel have received training in how to handle potential shooting threats. Finally, H.R. 4802 would require the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Cybersecurity and Communications to report to the Congress on the capacity of law enforcement, fire, and medical response teams to communicate and respond to security threats at airports. It passed in the House on July 22, 2014.


Charges and prosecution

On November 2, 2013, federal prosecutors charged Ciancia with murder of a federal officer and committing violence at an international airport. Ciancia also faced additional federal and/or state charges, including attempted murder in relation to the two men who were wounded by gunfire. On November 19, 2013, Ciancia was released from hospital after recovering from his gunshot wounds; he was taken into custody by agents from the
United States Marshals Service The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforceme ...
(U.S. marshals). On December 5, 2013, Ciancia appeared for the first time in court, where he was remanded without bail because he posed a threat to the community. On December 17, 2013, a federal
grand jury A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...
indicted Ciancia on 11 counts, including first-degree murder. This raised the possibility that he could have received the death penalty if he was convicted. The indictment described how the offence involved substantial planning and premeditation to cause the death of a person and to commit an act of terrorism. On December 26, 2013, Ciancia pleaded not guilty to the charge of first-degree murder. On March 3, 2014, a judge ordered that Ciancia be moved from a treatment facility at a San Bernardino County jail to a federal detention facility in Los Angeles. After initially being set for trial on February 11, 2014, he appeared in court prior to his trial on August 11, 2014 and December 8, 2014. In January 2015, federal prosecutors decided they would seek the
death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
against Ciancia. On January 5, 2015, it was announced that Ciancia's trial was projected to begin on February 23, 2016. On September 6, 2016, Ciancia pled guilty in exchange for a life sentence. On November 7, 2016, Ciancia was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole plus 60 years and is currently incarcerated in the
United States Penitentiary, Allenwood The United States Penitentiary, Allenwood (USP Allenwood) is a high security United States federal prison in Pennsylvania. It is part of the Allenwood Federal Correctional Complex (FCC Allenwood) and is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, ...
.


See also

*2017
Fort Lauderdale airport shooting On January 6, 2017, a mass shooting occurred at Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport in Broward County, Florida, United States, near the baggage claim in Terminal 2. Five people were killed while six others were injured in the shoot ...
*
2002 Los Angeles International Airport shooting On July 4, 2002, a lone gunman opened fire at the ticket counter of El Al, Israel's national airline, at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California, United States. In the terrorist attack, two people were killed, and four othe ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Los Angeles International Airport shooting 2013 crimes in California 2013 in Los Angeles 2013 mass shootings in the United States 2013 murders in the United States Attacks on airports Crimes in Los Angeles Deaths by firearm in California Los Angeles International Airport Mass shootings in California Mass shootings in the United States November 2013 crimes in the United States Incidents involving the sovereign citizen movement Transportation Security Administration