TSA Agent Shot at LAX

By Douglas V. Gibbs

A TSA agent has been shot in the leg at a security checkpoint at terminal 3 at the Los Angeles International Airport.  Reports indicate the shooter has also been wounded.  Terminals 3 and 2 have been evacuated.  More information as it becomes available.

UPDATE 10:03 am PT: All roads to and from LAX have been. Shut down.  All airport operations are closed.

UPDATE 10:33 am PT: One, possibly two, suspects have been arrested at the LAX shooting scene.  reports indicate that up to four people may have been shot.

UPDATE 10:51 am PT: Traffic gridlocked around LAX after shooting, planes circle above airport not allowed to land, as triage and police investigation ensues at the scene at terminal 3.  Flights are also restricted from taking off.  Trouble at the Los Angeles airport is affecting air travel nationwide.

UPDATE 11:07 am PT: Some planes are being allowed to land, but passengers are not being allowed into terminals.  Law enforcement to give press conference at 11:30 am PT.

UPDATE 11:25 am PT: One dead at LAX, four shot. Shooter targeted TSA employees,  and wore camouflage battledress.  Law Enforcement believe there was only one shooter and he is in custody. Firearm used was a rifle. Low victim count attributed to shooter being immediately engaged by armed LAPD officer on duty at the scene.

UPDATE 12:12 pm PT: Press conference began at 11:54, and the following is what we learned: The suspect was shooting as he entered the terminal.  Airport police trained on a similar scenario just weeks ago and the training was credited for the quickness the situation was diffused.   The speaker would not confirm deaths, but indicated that there was only one active shooter and that seven people were injured, and six were transported to the hospital.

UPDATE 12:30 pm PT: Unverified reports identify shooter as off-duty TSA agent.

UPDATE 1:15 pm PT: Union that represents TSA employees has confirmed a TSA agent has been killed, but did not confirm if it was a victim, or the shooter. Airport operations remain disrupted.

UPDATE 1:54 pm PT: Associated Press has identified the LAX Shooter as 23-year-old Paul Ciancia, of New Jersey.  The Union has indicated despite speculation, the shooter is not an NSA agent. LAX Police Chief Patrick Gannon said actions of responding officers were heroic. "They did not hesitate, they went after this individual, they confronted this individual in our airport," Gannon says. LAX Police Chief Patrick Gannon said actions of responding officers were heroic. "They did not hesitate, they went after this individual, they confronted this individual in our airport," Gannon says.

UPDATE 4:02 pm PT: Associated Press says gunman carried a note with him that said he wanted to kill TSA Agents and Pigs.

UPDATE 6:29 pm PT: CBS News reports that gunman sent a suicide text to family. A TSA Agent was killed in the shooting according to ABC News: "One of the shooting victims was a TSA officer who died of his wounds. The officer was a behavioral detection officer, assigned to identify passengers acting strangely, said J. David Cox, president of the AFGE, the officers' union."

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