Shooting Is Reported on Plane at Miami Airport (AP/NYT)
Shots were fired Wednesday from a federal air marshal’s gun on board an American Airlines jet that had landed at Miami International Airport, an official said. At least one person was wounded, according to broadcast reports. A law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed shots were fired from the marshal’s gun. The plane had just arrived from Colombia and was headed to Orlando, the broadcast reports said. Television images showed police SWAT officers surrounding the plane.
Airport and Miami-Dade County police officials said they had no immediate comment. American Airlines officials had no immediate comment.
I have no idea whether this is at all important but a commenter on a previous post was concerned that I hadn’t written anything about this story, about which I had not until then heard. If this turns out to be interesting and I have time, I’ll write more here.
Update (1519): CNN has emailed me now alerting me to the story, still with few details.
A person was shot and wounded on the Jetway to an American Airlines passenger jet that was at the terminal at Miami International Airport, an airline official said. A federal official told CNN that the passenger was shot by a federal air marshal, who felt the passenger was acting in a threatening manner. A senior administration official added that the passenger claimed to have a bomb in his carry-on luggage. An air marshal told the passenger to stop, and he did not, the official said, adding that the marshal fired after the passenger reached into his carry-on bag.
The BREAKING NEWS blurb adds, “A man shot and wounded on a Jetway at Miami International Aiport said he had a bomb, a senior administration official told CNN.”
Update (1551): CNN has now updated:
Federal air marshals shot and killed a man on a boarding bridge at Miami International Airport after he said he had a bomb, two sources familiar with the incident told CNN. Flight 924 was in Miami on a stopover during a flight from Medellin, Colombia, to Orlando, Florida, when the man said there was a bomb in his carry-on luggage, a Department of Homeland Security official said. He was confronted by a team of federal air marshals, who pursued the man down the boarding bridge and ordered him to get on the ground, the official said. When the man appeared to reach into his baggage, at least one shot was fired by the marshals, wounding the man, the official said, adding that marshals’ actions were consistent with their training.
Upon investigation, there was no evidence that the man had a bomb, an official said.
This is the first time an air marshal has fired a weapon on or near an airplane, a federal official said.
If a man claims to have a bomb in his bag, ignores orders from federal officers to freeze, and then reaches into his bag, he deserves to be shot. More importantly, said officers have a duty to shoot to prevent the reasonable likelihood of harm to themselves and others. That there was no bomb is sad but irrelevant.
