MIAMI, Dec. 8, 2005
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(AP) Shortly after boarding an Orlando-bound plane, passengers say, they saw a man bolt from his seat and run down the aisle, with his screaming wife and man in a Hawaiian shirt behind.
"My husband! My husband!" one passenger said she heard the wife cry.
The chase ended moments later Wednesday in a Miami International Airport jetway, when authorities say Rigoberto Alpizar appeared to reach for his bag. He was shot to death by the man in the Hawaiian shirt and a second pursuer, both undercover air marshals.
Before he ran off the plane he "uttered threatening words that included a sentence to the effect that he had a bomb," said James E. Bauer, agent in charge of the Federal Air Marshal Service field office in Miami.
No bomb was found, and federal officials later concluded there was no link to terrorism. Witnesses said his wife, Anne, frantically tried to explain he was bipolar, a mental illness also known as manic-depression, and was off his medication.
It was the first time since the Sept. 11 attacks that an air marshal discharged a firearm at a passenger or suspect, Homeland Security Department spokesman Brian Doyle said.
The Bush administration hired thousands of additional air marshals after Sept. 11, when the nation had only 33. The exact number now is classified. Marshals fly undercover, and which planes they're on is a closely guarded secret.
Officials declined to say how many times Alpizar was shot, but passengers reported hearing between four to six shots. Authorities did not confirm he suffered from a mental illness.
"The man sitting next to me got on the floor," said passenger Olga Echeverrie, of Guatemala. "I threw myself on the floor to pray for God's mercy on us."
Investigators closed the concourse at the airport for half an hour and spread passengers' bags on the tarmac. Dogs sniffed them for explosives, and bomb squad members blew up at least two bags. No bombs were found.
The remaining passengers were kept on the plane for an hour, then police told them to leave with their hands behind their backs, said Lucy Argote, 15, of Codazi, Colombia. They had to leave their possessions behind.
I hate to say this but totally agree with the action of the US Air Marshalls and I don't think that the shooting was wrong. This is probably the only 9/11 measure that i totally support.
I can't stand these American being like babies, criticizing the actions of the US Marshalls. They want safety yet they want everything to be perfect, as if by a snap of the fingers there won't be any more threats from anyone. If you want to be protected, there has to be a measure of sacrifice and certain precautionary levels have to be raised. Stop whining about it.
The shooting was totally justified because i think this shooting DOES send out a clear signal to any wannabe hijackers that the authorities mean business and they'll take you down my any means necessary. And the "greatest" part of it is that, this is really a out-of-the-blue incident and no one had any heads up about it. It happened on a completely random airline. This is definitely a good thing because those wannabe hijackers and terrorist really can't tell and can't be too sure anymore. There ARE indeed eyes and ears out there hunting you down.
This IS a good thing.
If the guy who was shot was an Arab, had some measley link to anything Palestinian, Muslim, Pakistan, etc. etc, the two US Marshalls who shot the man would NOT be suspended from work today, they would have been hailed as heroes.
Americans who are criticizing this should all just grow up and accept that the world we live in today is not the same as the golden days of yesteryears. If you want a the comforts of a blanket of security, there are certain things you have to accept and expect to give and to lose in the process.
You want and demand for something and claim your entitement to it yet you bend back on your own words and you're not willing to give away a little, you babies. Don't whine about it if another plane gets hijacked or anything like that, you asked for it. Seeing the blacklash to this incident is like seeing a little baby cry and whine about wanting i don't know, chocolate milk and then whining and crying abt it again when they don't like the chocolate milk, or if it doesn't taste like what they want or they see someone else having something better. For goodness sake, if the next time, God forbid anything should happen of course, but if anything do happen, you guys asked for it, you babies.
The stupidiest thing that can happen now is that a lawsuit is brought against the US Marshalls, and that the program gets cut. And if any of these two things happen in the near future because of this incident then... it just goes to reflect the stupidity of the American mentality. AND, knowing how moronic and idiotic this country can be at times, it WILL probably happen: I can see the headlines already, families suing the US Marshalls or the program getting cut.
Just you wait and see, the stupidity of humans.
I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide, then questions the manner in which I provide it. I'd prefer you just said thank you and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you're entitled to.
- Colonel Nathan Jessep, A Few Good Men-
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