"American Airlines passenger killed at MIA, claimed to have bomb"

Wednesday, December 7, 2005

Officials: Passenger killed after claiming to have bomb
Cable News Network (CNN)


MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- A federal air marshal shot and killed a 44-year-old
U.S. citizen on a boarding bridge at Miami International Airport after he
said he had a bomb, several sources familiar with the incident told CNN.

American Airlines Flight 924 was in Miami on a stopover during a flight from
Medellin, Colombia, to Orlando, Florida, when the man, idenitified as
Rigoberto Alpizar, said there was a bomb in his carry-on luggage, a
Department of Homeland Security official said.

Alpizar was confronted by a team of federal air marshals, who followed him
down the boarding bridge and ordered him to get on the ground, the official
said. 

When Alpizar appeared to reach into his baggage, at least one shot was
fired, wounding the man, the official said, adding that the marshals'
actions were consistent with their training. Officials said later that the
man died of his injuries.

Upon investigation, there was no evidence that Alpizar had a bomb, an
official said.

Alpizar had boarded the plane in Colombia, Air Marshal Service spokesman
Dave Adams said. After he got off the plane in Miami and went through
customs, he got back on the plane and said he had a bomb, Adams said. 

Air marshals asked him to get off the plane, which he did, but when they
asked him to put his bag down, he refused, Adams said. Alpizar then
approached the marshals in an aggressive manner, at which point two or three
shots were fired, he said.

This is the first time an air marshal has fired a weapon on or near an
airplane, a federal official said.

Footage from the scene shows armed SWAT team members carrying rifles outside
the aircraft, along with more than a dozen of police vehicles. Paramedics
were standing on the stairway to the aircraft.

The Boeing 757, which can hold about 180 passengers, was due to take off for
Orlando at 2:18 p.m. ET. It had arrived in Miami at 12:16 p.m. ET, according
to the airline's Web site. No other flights at Miami International were
disrupted Wednesday, an airport official said.

Attached Photo's:

Police officers circle the Boeing 757 Wednesday at Miami International
Airport.

Officials gather outside the door of American Airlines Flight 924 Wednesday
in Miami.

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