Miami Airport Shooting: Air marshals Thrust into Spotlight
Thomas Frank, Mimi Hall and Alan Levin
_______________________________
USA Today
Miami, Florida (US):
The quiet and little-known life of U.S. air marshals sprang suddenly into view Wednesday when marshals fatally shot Rigoberto Alpizar, an American Airlines passenger at Miami International Airport. The Federal Air Marshals Service said Alpizar had claimed to have a bomb on a jet before running from the aircraft and up a jetway. The Homeland Security Department said the shooting was the first by an air marshal.
Miami-Dade police are conducting a homicide investigation into the shooting, said James Bauer, the agent in charge of the air marshals' Miami office. But the air marshals' actions were defended by officials who noted that marshals are trained to take all potential threats seriously — and to respond to bomb threats with lethal force.
______________________
See Also:
EXCLUSIVE: Shoe Bomber Alert Preceded Airport Shooting
Mentally unstable man shot dead by air marshals
Shooting Is Defended But Gets Mixed Reviews
______________________
SWAT teams exit the American Airlines plane after it arrived from Colombia, while docked at Miami International Airport. "This is the perfect scenario of why we're there," said an air marshal who spoke to USA TODAY.
He asked not to be named because the secretive Air Marshals Service does not allow most of its employees to speak to the news media. "If somebody yelled they had a bomb and reached for it, you shoot them — no ifs, ands or buts. That's what you're there to do."Air marshals have been flying covertly on airplanes since several hijackings dating back to the late 1960s.
After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, their presence increased dramatically from about 50 to "thousands," according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
Thomas Frank, Mimi Hall and Alan Levin
_______________________________
USA Today
Miami, Florida (US):
The quiet and little-known life of U.S. air marshals sprang suddenly into view Wednesday when marshals fatally shot Rigoberto Alpizar, an American Airlines passenger at Miami International Airport. The Federal Air Marshals Service said Alpizar had claimed to have a bomb on a jet before running from the aircraft and up a jetway. The Homeland Security Department said the shooting was the first by an air marshal.
Miami-Dade police are conducting a homicide investigation into the shooting, said James Bauer, the agent in charge of the air marshals' Miami office. But the air marshals' actions were defended by officials who noted that marshals are trained to take all potential threats seriously — and to respond to bomb threats with lethal force.
______________________
See Also:
EXCLUSIVE: Shoe Bomber Alert Preceded Airport Shooting
Mentally unstable man shot dead by air marshals
Shooting Is Defended But Gets Mixed Reviews
______________________
SWAT teams exit the American Airlines plane after it arrived from Colombia, while docked at Miami International Airport. "This is the perfect scenario of why we're there," said an air marshal who spoke to USA TODAY.
He asked not to be named because the secretive Air Marshals Service does not allow most of its employees to speak to the news media. "If somebody yelled they had a bomb and reached for it, you shoot them — no ifs, ands or buts. That's what you're there to do."Air marshals have been flying covertly on airplanes since several hijackings dating back to the late 1960s.
After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, their presence increased dramatically from about 50 to "thousands," according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
