Paul Anthony Ciancia – the man charged with murdering a federal security officer at Los Angeles International Airport in November – has pleaded not guilty in California.
Paul Ciancia, 23, denied first-degree murder and 10 other charges during a brief court appearance.
The trial was set for February 11th in LA federal court.
Gerardo Hernandez, 39, a father of two, was checking IDs when he was shot dead. Three other people were wounded in the attack.
Paul Anthony Ciancia was charged with murdering a federal security officer at LA airport in November
Paul Ciancia had been taken to hospital after being shot by police four times.
Hernandez was the first Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agent killed in the line of duty since the agency was formed in 2001.
After coming to the US from El Salvador as a teenager, Gerardo Hernandez married his wife on Valentine’s Day in 1998. He had worked at the airport since 2010.
Paul Ciancia allegedly entered Terminal 3 at the airport on November 1st with a rifle and shot Gerardo Hernandez at close range.
Police say Paul Ciancia had a handwritten letter stating he wanted to kill multiple TSA officers and “instill fear in your traitorous minds”.
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The LAX gunman, who injured at least two others, was wounded in the shootout with airport police and taken into custody, authorities said.
Paul Anthony Ciancia’s condition was not disclosed.
Gerardo I. Hernandez, 39, became the first TSA officer in the agency’s 12-year history to be killed in the line of duty
When the shooting stopped, a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officer was dead. Gerardo I. Hernandez, 39, became the first TSA officer in the agency’s 12-year history to be killed in the line of duty.
Five other people were hurt, including two other TSA employees and gunman Paul Ciancia, 23, of Pennsville, New Jersey. He was shot four times by airport police and remained hospitalized but there was no word on his condition.
Paul Ciancia apparently had been living in Los Angeles for about 1½ years, authorities said.
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One person has been killed and seven people were wounded, one critically, during Los Angeles International Airport shooting, officials say.
The Transportation Security Administration said a number of its employees were injured, one fatally.
A lone suspect – whom law enforcement officials named to US media as 23-year-old Paul Ciancia – was wounded by police and detained.
Flights in and out of the busy airport were temporarily halted.
LA Airport police chief Patrick Gannon told reporters a “lone shooter” came into Terminal 3 at 9:20 local time.
The suspect “pulled an assault rifle out of a bag and began to open fire in the terminal”, he said.
One person has been killed and seven people were wounded during Los Angeles International Airport shooting
Paul Ciancia then proceeded to a security screening area and continued shooting.
Witness Brian Keech told the Associated Press news agency he had heard “about a dozen gunshots” from inside the security gate at Terminal 3.
Authorities actively engaged the shooter, during which time the suspect was wounded and later arrested, Patrick Gannon added.
The Transportation Security Administration later issued a statement reporting “multiple Transportation Security Officers were shot, one fatally”.
A local hospital official told reporters one of the injured was listed in critical condition, while two other victims were listed in fair condition.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) barred all flights landing at the airport during the incident, and outbound flights were delayed.
LA Mayor Eric Garcetti said those inside the airport were now safe and outbound flights would resume in areas other than Terminal 3.
Inbound flights were currently arriving at half the normal rate, officials said.
President Barack Obama expressed concern about the shooting, but said he would leave law enforcement to talk about it.
Witness Brian Adamick told the Los Angeles Times he and several other passengers went through a Terminal 3 emergency exit and on to the tarmac during the incident.
“While I was on the tarmac, I heard two gunshots from the same area where the people had been running and screaming,” Brian Adamick told the newspaper.
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