Report: LAX Shooter Purchased Guns Legally, Targeted TSA Agents
The latest information on the news wires about LAX shooting suspect Paul Ciancia reveals that Ciancia went to the airport with the intention of killing as many TSA agents as possible. And he brought a lot of ammunition.
In court documents and interviews, authorities spelled out a chilling chain of events, saying Ciancia walked into the airport, pulled a .223-caliber assault rifle from his duffel bag and fired repeatedly at 39-year-old TSA officer Gerardo I. Hernandez. He turned back to see Hernandez move and returned to finish him off, according to surveillance video reviewed by investigators.
He then fired on two other uniformed TSA employees and an airline passenger, who all were wounded, as he moved methodically through the security checkpoint before airport police shot him as panicked travelers hid in stores and restaurants.
It wasn’t clear why Ciancia targeted TSA officers, but what he left behind indicated he was willing to kill any of them that crossed his path, authorities revealed.
The shooter’s duffel bag contained a handwritten letter signed by Ciancia stating he’d “made the conscious decision to try to kill” multiple TSA employees and that he wanted to “instill fear in their traitorous minds,” FBI Agent in Charge David L. Bowdich said.
“Black, white, yellow, brown, I don’t discriminate,” the note read, according to a paraphrase by a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
The screed also mentioned “fiat currency” and “NWO,” possible references to the New World Order, a conspiracy theory that foresees a totalitarian one-world government.
The letter also talked about “how easy it is to get a gun into the airport,” the law enforcement official said. When searched, the suspect had five 30-round magazines, and his bag contained hundreds more rounds in boxes.
“Fiat currency” and the “New World Order,” we should point out, are long-standing conspiracy theories out there on the fringe where the Alex Jones/Ron Paul libertarians dwell.
Another new detail: apparently, all the weapons carried by Ciancia were purchased legally.
Authorities believe the rifle used in the shooting was purchased in Los Angeles. Ciancia also had two additional handguns that he purchased in Los Angeles, but which weren’t at the crime scene, a law enforcement official said. The official, who has been briefed on the investigation, was not authorized to speak publicly and requested anonymity.
The purchases themselves appeared legal, although authorities were still tracing them, and it’s unclear if the shooter used his own identification or someone else’s, the official said.
“He didn’t buy them on the street. He didn’t buy them on the Internet,” the official said. “He bought them from a licensed gun dealer - the rifle and the two handguns.”