Posted 12/7/2005 2:58 PM Updated 12/7/2005 3:40 PM

Air marshal shoots person after plane lands in Miami
MIAMI (AP) "” A passenger who claimed to have a bomb in a carry-on bag was shot by a federal air marshal Wednesday on a jetway connected to an American Airlines plane that had just arrived from Colombia, officials said.

The plane involved in the incident is parked at a gate at Miami International Airport.
From CNN

The passenger's condition was not immediately disclosed, but CNN reported the passenger died. A witness said the man frantically ran down the aisle and a woman with him said he was mentally ill. (Related: 'Today in the Sky' blog)

Homeland Security Department spokesman Brian Doyle said after the plane had parked at the gate, a passenger indicated there was a bomb in the bag. The passenger was confronted by air marshals but ran off the plane, Doyle said.

A team of air marshals pursued and ordered the passenger to get on the ground. The passenger did not comply and was shot when apparently reaching into the bag, Doyle said.

Passenger Mary Gardner told WTVJ in Miami that the man ran down the aisle from the rear of the plane. "He was frantic, his arms flailing in the air," she said. She said a woman followed, shouting, "My husband! My husband!"

Gardner said she heard the woman say her husband was bipolar and had not had his medication.

The plane, Flight 924, had just arrived from Medellin, Colombia, and was headed on to Orlando.

Airport and Miami-Dade County police officials said they had no immediate comment. American Airlines officials confirmed the shooting was on a jetway.

"All I know is that it was on the jet bridge, outside the aircraft," American spokesman Tim Wagner said. "I don't know yet if the passenger had been on the plane and was getting off, or was starting to board the aircraft."

Flight 924 arrived at Miami airport at 12:16 p.m. Eastern and was scheduled to depart at 2:18 p.m., Wagner said. He said the shooting happened shortly after 2 p.m., suggesting passengers may have already been preparing to depart for Orlando.

Martin Gonzalez, spokesman for Colombia's civil aviation agency, said the flight "left normally with no problems."


http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-12-07-flightsh...ed_x.htm?POE=NEWISVA

Sadly, it is being reported, that the person may have been mentally ill.

Apparently this has turned out to be a tragedy. The guy had no bomb. I suppose the facts will become clearer once witnesses come forward.

Edited to add: I mean it's good that he didn't have a bomb, but sad that they thought he did, and ended up shot and killed. I think that above sentence came out a little odd.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: BF,

MIAMI Dec 8, 2005 "” The White House said Thursday that two federal air marshals appeared to have acted properly when they shot and killed an agitated passenger who claimed to have a bomb in his backpack.

No bomb was found, and authorities later said Rigoberto Alpizar, the passenger killed Wednesday at the Miami airport, was not a terrorist. Witnesses said his wife had frantically tried to explain that he was mentally ill and had not taken his medication.

"I don't think anyone wants to see it come to a situation like this," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. "But these marshals appear to have acted in a way that's consistent with the extensive training that they have received. And we'll see what the investigation shows, and lessons learned from that will be applied to future training and protocol."


Similarly, Dave Adams, a spokesman for the Federal Air Marshal Service, said the marshals followed proper procedures. "We only react when there is a threat to the aircraft, passengers or crew," he said.

Passengers on the Orlando-bound American Airlines flight said they saw a man bolt from his seat and run down the aisle with his arms flailing shortly after boarding, with his screaming wife and man in a Hawaiian shirt an undercover air marshal behind him.

He was gunned down moments later on a jetway after he apparently reached for his back, authorities said. Two air marshals were on the flight, and both fired at Alpizar, Adams said.

It was the first time since the Sept. 11 attacks that an air marshal shot at someone, Homeland Security Department spokesman Brian Doyle said.

Jeanne Jentsch, the sister of Alpizar's wife, read a short statement Thursday outside the couple's suburban Orlando home, calling him "a loving, gentle and caring husband, uncle, son and friend."

Relatives took no questions from reporters, and the statement did not address Alpizar's mental condition. On Wednesday, James E. Bauer, agent in charge of the air marshals' Miami field office, would not comment on Alpizar's mental state either.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1386688

Passengers: Alpizar didn't say 'bomb'
12/9/2005, 10:11 a.m. ET
By CURT ANDERSON
The Associated Press

MIAMI (AP) "” The airline passenger shot to death by federal marshals who said he made a bomb threat was agitated even before boarding and later appeared to be desperate to get off the plane, some fellow travelers said.

One passenger said he "absolutely never heard the word 'bomb' at all" during the uproar as the Orlando-bound flight prepared to leave Miami on Wednesday.

Federal officials say Rigoberto Alpizar made the threat in the jetway, after running up the plane's aisle from his seat at the back of the jetliner. They opened fire because the 44-year-old Home Depot employee ignored their orders to stop, reached into his backpack and said he had a bomb, according to authorities.

Alpizar's brother, speaking from Costa Rica, said he would never believe the shooting was necessary.

"I can't conceive that the marshals wouldn't be able to overpower an unarmed, single man, especially knowing he had already cleared every security check," Carlos Alpizar told The Orlando Sentinel.

Some passengers said they noticed Alpizar while waiting to get on the plane. They said he was singing "Go Down Moses" as his wife tried to calm him. Others said they saw him having lunch and described him as restless and anxious, but not dangerous.

"The wife was telling him, 'Calm down. Let other people get on the plane. It will be all right,'" said Alan Tirpak, a passenger.

Some passengers, including John McAlhany, said they believe Alpizar was no threat to anyone.

McAlhany, a 44-year-old construction worker who was returning home from a fishing trip in Key West, said he was sitting in Seat 21C when he noticed a commotion a few rows back.

"I heard him saying to his wife, 'I've got to get off the plane,'" McAlhany said. "He bumped me, bumped a couple of stewardesses. He just wanted to get off the plane."

Alpizar ran up the aisle into the first-class cabin, where marshals chased him onto the jetway, McAlhany said.

McAlhany said he "absolutely never heard the word 'bomb' at all."

"The first time I heard the word 'bomb' was when I was interviewed by the FBI," McAlhany said. "They kept asking if I heard him say the B-word. And I said, 'What is the B-word?' And they were like, 'Bomb.' I said no. They said, 'Are you sure?' And I am."

Added another passenger, Mary Gardner: "I did not hear him say that he had a bomb."

Officials say there was no bomb and they found no connection to terrorism.

Witnesses said Alpizar's wife, Anne Buechner, had frantically tried to explain he was bipolar, a mental illness also known as manic-depression, and was off his medication.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness called on the Air Marshal Service and other law enforcement agencies to train officers if they don't already in responding to people with severe mental illness.

Others said Alpizar's mental health didn't matter while marshals were trying to talk to him and determine if the threat was real.

Shooting to maim or injure "” rather than kill "” is not an option for federal agents, said John Amat, national operations vice president of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, which includes air marshals in its membership.

"The person was screaming, saying he would blow up the plane, reaching into his bag "” they had to react," Amat said.

"The bottom line is, we're trained to shoot to stop the threat," said Amat, who is also a deputy with the U.S. Marshals Service in Miami. "Hollywood has this perception that we are such marksmen we can shoot an arm or leg with accuracy. We can't. These guys were in a very tense situation. In their minds they had to believe this person was an imminent threat to themselves or the people on the plane."

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the two air marshals appeared to have acted properly when they shot to kill.

Both air marshals were hired in 2002 from other federal law enforcement agencies and were placed on administrative leave, said Brian Doyle, spokesman for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Miami-Dade Police were investigating and the medical examiner's office was performing an autopsy on Alpizar, who was from Costa Rica but became a U.S. citizen years ago. He lived in Maitland, an Orlando suburb.

Neighbors said the couple had been returning to their home from a missionary trip to Ecuador. Buechner works for the Council on Quality and Leadership based in Towson, Md., a nonprofit organization focused on improving life for people with disabilities and mental illness, the organization said in a statement.

David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association, said he thinks the shooting may prove more "reassuring than disturbing" to the traveling public his organization represents. "This is a reminder they are there and are protecting the passengers and that it is a seriously deadly business," he said.

Armed police boarded the aircraft after the shooting, with some passengers in hysterics. McAlhany said he remembers having a shotgun pressed into his head by one officer, and hearing cries and screams from many passengers aboard the aircraft after the shooting in the jetway.

"This was wrong," McAlhany said. "This man should be with his family for Christmas. Now he's dead."

___

Associated Press writers Andrew Bridges, Mark Sherman and Lara Jakes Jordan in Washington; Mike Schneider and Travis Reed in Orlando; and Jessica Gresko and Tim Reynolds in Miami contributed to this story.

http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/national/index.ssf?/...l&storylist=national

Count me as a person who finds this shooting disturbing, not at all reassuring.

Cecil, If you are still around, I just want to tell you that I now understand why you thought pilots shouldn't carry guns. It's not that I was ever sure that it was the right thing to allow it, but this case drives home the terrible loss of life that could ensue over a misunderstanding.

Btw, I wish you and your family a very happy holiday. Thanks so much for your intelligent comments throughout these difficult years.

Barbara