Pax Shot Dead ?
Not heard about this ?
An American Airlines passenger has reportedly been shot dead by an air marshal in Miami after claiming to have a bomb in a bag.
The shots were fired as the passenger attempted to flee into the terminal via a jetway – a bridge link – leading off the plane.
Local media reports say the passenger was hit as he put a hand into his carry-on bag.
A Homeland Security official said: “Shots were fired as the team attempted to subdue the subject.” The spokesperson said air marshals had pursued and ordered the passenger to get down on the ground. “The passenger then reached into his carry-on bag, at which point, consistent with air marshal training, the air marshals took the appropriate actions.” It is not clear whether the person was shot during a struggle or if he was running away from air marshals at the time.
The jet had landed at Miami International Airport and is currently on the tarmac. It is surrounded by heavily armed police and passengers are being taken off the plane – stopped at Gate D42. Flight 924 had flown in from Medellin in Columbia – it had been heading for Orlando.
American Airline Corporation spokesman Tim Smith confirmed: “There was an incident on the jet bridge on one of our aircraft in Miami.” Defence and security expert Francis Tusa told Sky News that anyone threatening to have a weapon on board a plane in America is “not going to get any mercy from US officials at all”.
He added that the presence of air marshals in the US was “boosted dramatically post 9/11” and that pilots do not always know an air marshal is on board a flight.
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