2002 Los Angeles International Airport shooting

2002 Los Angeles International Airport shooting
Location Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Date July 4, 2002
Target Israeli targets in Los Angeles International Airport (Los Angeles)
Attack type
 Shooting
Weapons Two pistols, knife
Deaths 3 (including the perpetrator)
Non-fatal injuries
 5
Perpetrators Hesham Mohamed Hadayet

On July 4, 2002, a lone gunman opened fire at the airline ticket counter of El Al, Israel's national airline, at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California. Two people were killed and four others were injured before the gunman was fatally shot by a security guard after also being wounded by him.

The attack

On July 4, 2002 at around 11:30 a.m., a lone gunman approached the El Al ticket counter at the Los Angeles International Airport, pulled out two pistols and started shooting at the 90 passengers standing in the line. Initially, the assailant killed 25-year-old Customer Service Agent Victoria Hen, who was standing behind the counter, with a gunshot to the chest. Later, the assailant opened fire at the passengers as they huddled nearby and killed 46-year-old passenger Yaakov Aminov. In addition, he injured four other bystanders.

After the gunman fired 10 bullets at the crowd, one of El Al's security guards, who was unarmed, managed to knock him down. Meanwhile, El Al's security officer, Chaim Sapir, ran to the scene but was stabbed by the assailant with a knife. Despite this, Sapir managed to draw his pistol and kill the gunman.[1][2][3]

The perpetrator

Hesham Mohamed Hadayet, a 41-year-old Egyptian national, was identified as the assailant. He immigrated to the United States in 1992, arriving from Egypt as a tourist.

Hadayet had a green card which allowed him to work as a limousine driver. He was married, and had at least one child. At the time of the shooting, Hadayet was living in Irvine, California.[4]

Aftermath

Considering that the attack occurred almost one year after the September 11 attacks, the Federal Bureau of Investigation concluded that the attack was an act of terrorism, although the gunman acted alone.[5] In September 2002, federal investigators concluded that Hadayet hoped to influence U.S. government policy in favor of the Palestinians, and that the incident was indeed a terrorist act.[6][7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Dougherty, Jon E. (July 11, 2002). "LAX terrorist in U.S. on amnesty exemption". WorldNetDaily. WorldNetDaily, Inc. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
  2. ↑ התקפת יריות על דלפק אל-על בלוס אנג'לס [An attack on the Los Angeles ticket counter]. Yedioth Internet (in Hebrew). Ynet and agencies. July 6, 2002.
  3. ↑ Blankstein, Andrew (July 7, 2002). "LAX Assailant Died of Abdominal Gunshot Wound". Los Angeles Times.
  4. ↑ Feldman, Charles (July 5, 2002). "Los Angeles airport shooting kills 3". CNN (Los Angeles, California). Retrieved December 4, 2004.
  5. ↑ "FBI, Justice: El Al attack was terrorism". CNN. April 12, 2003. Retrieved December 2, 2008.
  6. ↑ "Federal investigators: L.A. airport shooting a terrorist act". CNN. September 5, 2002. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
  7. ↑ CNN report on the shooting

External links