Photos: KABC-TV Incident Slide Show
BRIAN HUMPHREY
Official Los Angeles City Fire Department Incident Report
On Thursday, July 4, 2002 at 1132 Hours (11:32 AM PDT), six Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, eight LAFD Rescue Ambulances, two EMS District Captains, and one Battalion Officer Command Team, all under the direction of Assistant Chief Michael Fulmis responded to a Multi-Victim Shooting, Stabbing and Assault at Los Angeles International Airport.
The first Company to arrive at the Tom Bradley International Terminal was directed to the Departure Level Ticketing Area where they initially discovered six injured victims, five of whom had sustained gunshot wounds. Firefighters quickly established a triage area, while treatment was expertly provided to the injured.
A 52 year-old male gunshot victim was declared deceased at the scene, while the remaining patients were quickly transported to area hospitals. They included a woman in her 20's and a male in his 40's who both sustained gunshot wounds that proved fatal, as well as a 61 year-old female who suffered a gunshot wound to the ankle. A male in his 40's sustained a minor stab wound to his back and a gunshot wound to the knee, while a male in his 20's was reportedly pistol-whipped.
These men, as well as the seventh and final patient, an ill 63 year-old female complaining of chest pain, were taken to area hospitals for further evaluation and treatment. Though many airline patrons were apparently directed to leave the terminal, the LAFD did not estimate their number.
No other injuries or illnesses were reported. The formal investigation of this incident is being handled by a multi-disciplinary cadre of local, regional, State and Federal law enforcement officials.
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Gunman Opened Fire at Ticket Counter
RYAN PEARSON
Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A gunman opened fire Thursday at Israel's El Al airlines ticket counter at Los Angeles International Airport, killing two people before an airline security guard shot him dead, authorities said.
The FBI said there was no immediate indication that the shootings were connected to terrorism, and that the gunman acted alone. ``It appears this was an isolated incident,'' Mayor James Hahn said.
Three other people were wounded, including an El Al security guard, authorities said. Thousands were evacuated from the international terminal, although the Federal Aviation Administration said all domestic arrivals and departures continued to operate normally.
The shootout happened with security on high alert around the country for a possible terrorist attack on July Fourth. It sent passengers ducking behind counters and hiding in airport offices.
Israel's foreign ministry blamed terrorists, but didn't offer any evidence to support the claim.
The 52-year-old gunman had approached another person at the counter and opened fire shortly before noon, said Alex Baez, a police spokesman. There was no immediate indication of his identity, nationality or motive.
An El Al security guard fatally shot the gunman, police said.
One of the victims was Yakov Aminov, 46, relatives at his Los Angeles home confirmed. A woman who answered the telephone there said the family was too shocked to speak to anyone. He was dropping friends off at the airport, and died of gunshot wounds, hospital officials said.
Also fatally shot was a woman in her 20s. The airline said she was an employee of a company that provides ground services to El Al at Los Angeles airport.
In addition, a 61-year-old woman was shot in the ankle, a 40-year-old man was knifed and a man in his 20s was treated for injuries from a pistol whipping, authorities said. Asked about reports of the stab wounds, FBI spokesman Rich Garcia said, ``there are various weapons that we're looking at.'' El Al said one of the injured was a security officer hurt ``while the attacker was being neutralized.''
Two other people underwent treatment for heart problems, fire officials said.
El Al had one flight scheduled out of Los Angeles on Thursday, Flight 106 to Toronto and Tel Aviv, said David Douek, a spokesman for the Israeli consulate here. It was scheduled to depart at 4:10 p.m. In Israel early Friday, El Al said about 10 passengers were checking in for the flight when the attack began and about 80 others already had passed through the area.
The governor praised the airline's response, saying security agents acted quickly and prevented a greater loss of life.
``Like all Californians, I am outraged and deeply saddened to learn of today's shooting,'' Davis said in a statement. ``That it happened on the day on which we honor what America stands for _ liberty, security and diversity _ makes this particularly more tragic.''
``My heart, as well of those of all Californians, aches for the victims of this shooting and their families,'' he said.
A witness, Hakin Hasidh, 43, of Dusseldorf, Germany, said he was standing in the line next to the El Al counter. After hearing two shots, he turned and saw the gunman fire at passengers in line.
``The first couple of shots, everybody just stood there, frozen like I was,'' Hasidh said. ``It's really hard to tell whether he was aiming at the counter, at people behind the counter or at people in line.''
Vanessa Spinelli was dropping off her aunt for a flight when she heard the gunshots from nearby the El Al counter.
``At first I thought it was firecrackers, said Spinelli, 26, of Los Angeles. ``Then everybody started screaming.''
``My mom told me this morning to be careful and don't stay at the airport too long because there are warnings out. She was right,'' Spinelli said.
After the shooting, traffic was stopped on the roadway for departing passengers, but moving steadily along the road serving arrivals. Twenty outbound flights were delayed, disrupting travel plans for 6,000 passengers, Hahn said. Five hours after the shooting, most of the international terminal had reopened. Some 900,000 people had been expected to pass through the airport Thursday.
Fire officials deployed a team to check for hazardous materials.
Airport police detained and questioned a man who was acting suspiciously in the terminal, but he was not considered a suspect, Cmdr. David Kalish said. The man was picked up on a different level of the terminal, and was not believed connected to the shooter, he said.
``There are no other suspects,'' Kalish said.
Greg Warren, a spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation, said the agency will review security procedures to see if something more needs to be done.
El Al, based in Israel, is known as one of the most security-conscious airlines in the world.
``The terrorists deliberately chose the Fourth of July to carry out their crime on the soil of the United States,'' Israeli foreign ministry spokeswoman Yaffa Ben-Ari said in a statement.
Last year, an Algerian who trained in terrorist camps financed by Osama bin Laden was convicted of plotting to blow up Los Angeles International at the height of the millennium holiday travel period. Ahmed Ressam had been arrested in Washington state on Dec. 14, 1999, while entering the country from Canada in a car with a trunk full of explosives.
