troublemaker_42

Officials: Passenger killed after claiming to have bomb

Wednesday, December 7, 2005; Posted: 4:27 p.m. EST (21:27 GMT)


Police officers circle the Boeing 757 Wednesday at Miami International Airport.
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MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- A federal air marshal shot and killed a 44-year-old U.S. citizen on a boarding bridge at Miami International Airport after he said he had a bomb, several sources familiar with the incident told CNN.

Flight 924 was in Miami on a stopover during a flight from Medellin, Colombia, to Orlando, Florida, when the man said there was a bomb in his carry-on luggage, a Department of Homeland Security official said.

He was confronted by a team of federal air marshals, who pursued the man down the boarding bridge and ordered him to get on the ground, the official said. ( Watch scene after the incident -- 1:31)

When the man appeared to reach into his baggage, at least one shot was fired by the marshals, wounding the man, the official said, adding that the marshals' actions were consistent with their training. Officials said later that the man had died of his injuries.

Upon investigation, there was no evidence that the man had a bomb, an official said.

This is the first time an air marshal has fired a weapon on or near an airplane, a federal official said.

Footage from the scene shows armed SWAT team members carrying rifles outside the aircraft, along with more than a dozen of police vehicles. Paramedics were standing on the stairway to the aircraft.

The Boeing 757, which can hold about 180 passengers, was due to take off for Orlando at 2:18 p.m. ET. It had arrived in Miami at 12:16 p.m. ET, according to the airline's Web site. No other flights at Miami International were disrupted Wednesday, an airport official said.



Why on earth would someone do something so asine? What do people EXPECT to happen when they say they have a bomb, then disobey people that have guns pointed at them?

Buzzby

Suicide by cop?

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teufelfisch

A part of me wants to say that since the man did not have a bomb, an injustice was done.

However, I understand that the cops acted exactly as they should have acted, and I would have probably made the same choice!

At some point in this incident there was an intelligence failure, either by the cops or by the man.

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Niteshift

Intelligence failure? What intelligence would be involved here? You have a guy who suddenly becomes disruptive, claims to have a bomb, refuses to comply with instructions and then makes a sudden move towards the bag..........they had no choice. Intelligence gathering has nothing to do with this.

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teufelfisch

I was being sarcastic. My point was that either the man or the cops screwed up, depending on your point of view. The point is moot, see?

Buzzby

How did the cops screw up? I'm trying to see things from that POV and I simply can't.

They did everything according to established procedures designed to protect people from terrorists. There was no way they could have known the man didn't have a bomb. They had to assume he did. They gave the guy every opportunity they could to get out of the situation in one piece and he refused to take advantage of them.

They guy was
a) incredibly stupid
b) totally insane
c) suicidal
d) all of the above

I don't see any course of action the air marshals could have taken to avoid the shooting without putting hundreds of people at risk.

Murdock

Yep, thats what it sounds like. I'm holding off judgement in the short term though, as there seems to be more information that comes out in time with these kinds of things.. A similiar incident happened in London a few months ago, and it ended up being a completely different story than the one initially thought..

fight4rights

It's sad that people can be so far gone as to no longer have any empathy for others. Imagine how terrified everyone was around him. Little children could have seen this guy shot to death for all we know. He surely has someone that cares for him (wife) that will miss him now. I wonder if he was acting out of malice or he was crazy. Either way I feel sorry for the guy.

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troublemaker_42

Of course we should feel sorry for the guy. However, because of what he was doing/saying, action had to be taken. When i first made the post was shortly after it happened, and there was no mention of the bi-polar condition. Thats unfortunate. Despite that, something had to be done. Would the kids have been any less traumatized had the bomb been real? Would it be better that many wives/husbands be mourning the deaths of their spouses? In this day and age, saying you have a bomb, especially in an airport, is going to draw attention. When you then begin acting strangely and refusing to cooperate with the law enforcement on the scene, what do you prospose we do?? Wait, and see if suddenly he blows up, taking God knows how many people with him?

Murdock

Exactly, a wait and see approach is the best.. Slowly the facts will begin coming together and coming out... With that said, if it happened as Federal Agents say it's happened, then yes.. they took the correct action.. But, withholding judgement is prudent at this early stage. There are just too many variables... and too much confusion initially..