Shots fired on American Airlines plane in Miami

[Brent]

Enroute from Colombia to Orlando... suspect said he had a bomb and shots were fired apparently in mid-air. There is a stretcher waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

Flight 924 from Medellin. Apparently there was a confrontation with Air Marshalls. Unclear if anyone was actually shot...

[Brent]

Air Marshall fired(first time???) and hit someone, probably the suspect.

[brunota2003]

MIAMI - A federal air marshal opened fire on board an American Airlines flight on the ground at Miami International Airport, according to a law enforcement official who spoke only on condition of anonymity.

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At least one person was wounded, according to broadcast reports said. The plane had just arrived from Colombia and was headed to Orlando. Television showed police SWAT officers surrounding the plane.

Airport and Miami-Dade County police officials said they had no immediate comment. Airlines officials did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Martin Gonzalez, spokesman for Colombia's civil aviation agency, said he had no information regarding the incident. "The flight left normally with no problems," he told the Associated Press in Bogota.

He said he did not have a list of passengers who were aboard the plane.

According to American Airlines' Web site, Flight 924 arrived from Medellin at 12:16 p.m. It was supposed to depart for Orlando at 2:18 p.m. The site says the flight status is delayed.

___

Associated Press Writer Mark Sherman in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.

But many storys are floating around still, the confusion of it all...

[gtalum]

Well it was bound to happen eventually. Let's just hope it was justified.

[Brent]

Two sources reporting the suspect is dead... the stretcher is no longer at the bottom of the stairs.

[HurryKane]

It was a fool who claimed he had a bomb in his bag after the plane parked and then he ran down the jetway. He was shot in the jetway as he reached into the bag (dummy): From Yahoo:

By JOHN PAIN, Associated Press Writer 6 minutes ago

MIAMI - A passenger who claimed to have a bomb in a carry-on bag was shot on a jetway after an American Airlines plane arrived at Miami International Airport from Colombia, officials said.

Homeland Security Department spokesman Brian Doyle said after the plane had parked at the gate, a passenger indicated there was a bomb in the bag. The passenger was confronted by air marshals but ran off the plane, Doyle said.

A team of air marshals pursued and ordered the passenger to get on the ground. The passenger complied, then was shot when apparently reaching into a bag, Doyle said.

The plane had just arrived from Colombia and was headed on to Orlando.

Airport and Miami-Dade County police officials said they had no immediate comment. American Airlines officials confirmed the shooting was on a jetway.

Martin Gonzalez, spokesman for Colombia's civil aviation agency, said he had no information regarding the incident. "The flight left normally with no problems," he told The Associated Press in Bogota.

He said he did not have a list of passengers who were aboard the plane.

___

Associated Press writers Mark Sherman and Lara Jakes Jordan in Washington contributed to this report.

[alicia-w]

Shots Fired On American Airlines Flight At MIA

POSTED: 2:17 pm EST December 7, 2005
UPDATED: 3:28 pm EST December 7, 2005

MIAMI -- A passenger who made a threat was shot on a jetway leading to an American Airlines plane that had arrived from Colombia during a struggle with a federal air marshal at Miami International Airport, officials said.




Homeland Security Department spokesman Brian Doyle said after the plane had parked at the gate, a passenger indicated there was a bomb in the passenger's carryon bag. The passenger was confronted by air marshals but ran off the plane.

Images: Shots Fired On Plane

A team of air marshals pursued and ordered the passenger to get on the ground. The passenger complied, then was shot when apparently reaching into a bag, Doyle said.

The plane had just arrived from Colombia and was headed on to Orlando.

It was unclear whether the shot was fired during the course of a struggle between the marshal and the passenger or whether the marshal had fired the weapon to stop the passenger.

According to two law enforcement officials, the man was fatally shot.

Miami-Dade police had few details.

"We have had a shooting on this American Airlines plane," said Mary Walters, of the Miami-Dade Police Department. "The airplane appears to be secure. The officers, special response team, and fire rescue are on the scene. We're trying to get the details before we advise what has happened."

"I don't know yet if the passenger had been on the plane and was getting off, or was starting to board the aircraft," airlines spokesman Tim Wagner said.

According to American Airlines' Web site, Flight 924 arrived from Medellin, Colombia at 12:16 p.m. It was supposed to depart for Orlando at 2:18 p.m. The site said the flight status is delayed.

The plane was parked at Terminal D. Walters said she assumed the terminal was closed to passengers but that was not confirmed.

Passenger Says Man Was Frantic

Mary Gardner, a passenger on the Flight 924, told NBC 6 that she heard four to five shots fired. Gardner was a guest on NBC 6's South Florida Today show at 10 a.m. She spoke about inexpensive Christmas gifts.

Gardner called NBC 6 and said she was seated in the third row of the coach section of the aircraft. She saw a man run frantically through the aisle from the back of the plane to the first class area before the shots were fired.

She said a woman who was apparently traveling with the man was screaming, "My husband. My husband."

Gardner also said other passengers said they heard the lady say that her husband was bipolar and had not taken his medication.

Gardner said she was not sure if the shooting happened in the first class section of the airplane or outside on the jetway.

After the shooting, police boarded the plane and told passengers to put their hands on their head. Gardner said the passengers onboard remained calm and were later escorted off the plane and onto a bus.

No other injuries were reported.

NBC 6 will have more details as they become available.

http://www.nbc6.net/news/5485711/detail.html

[wxcrazytwo]

Enroute from Colombia to Orlando... suspect said he had a bomb and shots were fired apparently in mid-air. There is a stretcher waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

Flight 924 from Medellin. Apparently there was a confrontation with Air Marshalls. Unclear if anyone was actually shot...

one hour late. Heard long before.

[Lindaloo]

And your point crazy? At least he posted about it.

[Brent]

Enroute from Colombia to Orlando... suspect said he had a bomb and shots were fired apparently in mid-air. There is a stretcher waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

Flight 924 from Medellin. Apparently there was a confrontation with Air Marshalls. Unclear if anyone was actually shot...

one hour late. Heard long before.

I posted less than 5 minutes after I first heard about it(on the cable news networks).

and I didn't see you start a post about it...

[wxcrazytwo]

And your point crazy? At least he posted about it.

Lindaloo, didja notice the wink. I was only teasing him.

[Lindaloo]

I know, so was I.

Good job, Brent. You are da man.

[wxcrazytwo]

I know, so was I.

Good job, Brent. You are da man.

Man, I hate it when you do that.

Always has to have the last word..

[Dr. Jonah Rainwater]

I doubt this guy actually had a bomb. I think he was just some nut going for a "suicide by police". It looks like he succeeded.

[Brent]

I doubt this guy actually had a bomb. I think he was just some nut going for a "suicide by police". It looks like he succeeded.

Yes... officials have confirmed there was no bomb. Apparently he was a mentally disturbed 44-year-old U.S. citizen.

[HurryKane]

And now we wait for the hue and cry that they shot too soon, didn't analyze the situation enough, didn't ask him fifteen times if he really truly honestly had a bomb and if he was crazy, etc. Yuck. It's not a situation where those sworn to protect have a lot of time to chit-chat with the offender.

[Dr. Jonah Rainwater]

No, I'm pretty sure everyone on the political spectrum can agree that the shooting of this man was necessary, and the killing of him was accidental. He threatened to kill everyone on the plane. He knew that was just asking for it.

[HurryKane]

No, I'm pretty sure everyone on the political spectrum can agree that the shooting of this man was necessary, and the killing of him was accidental. He threatened to kill everyone on the plane. He knew that was just asking for it.

Everyone with common sense will agree with you, but I guarantee some (likely little-known) group advocating the rights of the mentally ill will crab about it and say there's a stigma attached to them now.

[Terrell]

Based on what I've heard on the news today, this shooting was justified.

Would be nice though if the media didn't treat it like it was the ONLY story on earth. Can't Wolf Blitzer talk about something else in additon to this story, or does it really deserve the entire 3 hours (of the Situation Room) exclusive of anything else that can be editoralized on? Does MSNBC really need to pre-empt The Abrams Report (3 hrs after the event) and Hardball w Chris Matthews (4 hrs later). I wish the media would tell us about the event (w/r/t breaking news) and give us more info as they get it, but while they are waiting for info that they'd talk about other stories too.

[nystate]

Based on what I've heard on the news today, this shooting was justified.

Would be nice though if the media didn't treat it like it was the ONLY story on earth. Can't Wolf Blitzer talk about something else in additon to this story, or does it really deserve the entire 3 hours (of the Situation Room) exclusive of anything else that can be editoralized on? Does MSNBC really need to pre-empt The Abrams Report (3 hrs after the event) and Hardball w Chris Matthews (4 hrs later). I wish the media would tell us about the event (w/r/t breaking news) and give us more info as they get it, but while they are waiting for info that they'd talk about other stories too.

I am glad they are covering this the way they are. Maybe it will convince some of the pranksters and jokers who make bomb threats that the USA isn't kidding about this kind of stuff...