Shot passenger 'was mentally ill'

December 8, 2005 - 4:16PM
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US air marshals shot and killed an agitated passenger who claimed he had a bomb in his backpack as he bolted frantically from a plane that was boarding for takeoff.

No explosives were found in the bag or on the body of the US citizen who according to reports may have been mentally confused after failing to take medication.

The shooting at Miami International Airport was the first time since the September 11, 2001, attacks that an air marshal had shot at anyone.

Officials later discounted the possibility of it being a terror-related incident.

"There's no reason to believe right now that there is any nexus to terrorism or any other events associated with this one," said James Bauer, who heads the US air marshals' office in Miami.

"There were no explosives," he said after the dead man's backpack was detonated shortly after the shooting.

The man, identified as Rigoberto Alpizar, 44, boarded the Orlando-bound plane in Miami, and once aboard, indicated he had a bomb, said Bauer.

Air marshals on the flight identified themselves and confronted him, but he did not follow their instructions and tried to evade them, officials said.

"His actions caused them to fire shots and in fact he is deceased," Bauer said at a news conference.

Officials said the man, who apparently was travelling with his wife, was shot as he walked away from the plane.

"He fled from the aircraft through the jetway (air bridge) going toward the terminal," said US Homeland Security Department spokeswoman Joanna Gonzalez.

"At that point, he appeared to be reaching into his carry-on bag ... the air marshals took the appropriate action and that's when the shots were fired."


Police and SWAT intervention teams immediately surrounded American Airlines Flight 924.

One of the 144 passengers on the plane, which had arrived earlier from the Colombian city of Medellin, said she saw the man running "crazily" down the aisle before the shots were fired.

Mary Gardner, a passenger on the flight, said the man ran screaming down the aisle and a woman followed him, yelling "my husband, my husband," WTVJ television reported.

"I did hear the lady say her husband was bi-polar and had not had his medication," Gardner said in the interview.

"I saw the woman, I think she was English-speaking, blonde hair, she was hysterical," said the passenger.

"He started running crazily through the aisle," Gardner added, "he was running like he was frantic, his arms flailing in the air."

US media said Alpizar lived in Maitland, near Orlando.

The passengers could be seen exiting the plane with their hands over their heads, apparently as a precautionary measure ordered by law enforcement officials. Police used bomb sniffing dogs to check their luggage.

Federal air marshals travel on selected US domestic and international flights. They are armed but wear civilian clothes. Their mission is officially to "detect, deter and defeat hostile acts targeting US air carriers, airports, passengers and crews."

They are trained to blend in with other passengers, though crews and other armed law enforcement officers on a given flight are informed of their identity.

While the exact number of air marshals is kept secret, it is reported to be in the thousands, up from just 33 on September 11, 2001.

"There's no reason to believe right now that there is any nexus to terrorism or any other events associated with this one," said Bauer.

"There were no explosives," he said after the dead man's backpack was detonated shortly after the shooting.

He said he was unable to confirm reports the man suffered from bipolar disorder leading to his behaviour that sparked the shooting.
AFP/AP

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