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===Significance=== ===Significance===
This incident marks the first time that a U.S. ] has shot at a passenger or suspect. Six days after Rigoberto's death, the U.S. government gave the ]s expanded powers to "identify suspicious passengers." The air marshals were "eager to conduct surveillance activities beyond the aircraft, and provide a beefed-up law enforcement presence at bus, train and public transit stations." This incident marks the first time that a U.S. ] has shot at a passenger or suspect. Six days after Rigoberto's murder, the U.S. government gave the ]s expanded powers to "identify suspicious passengers." The air marshals were "eager to conduct surveillance activities beyond the aircraft, and provide a beefed-up law enforcement presence at bus, train and public transit stations."


==See also== ==See also==

Revision as of 19:53, 23 December 2005

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Killing of Rigoberto Alpizar

Rigoberto Alpizar (April 17, 1961–December 7, 2005) was a Costa Rican-born United States citizen who was fatally shot at Miami International Airport by two United States federal air marshals.

The incident occurred in the jetway between the plane and concourse after Alpizar ran off his scheduled flight to Orlando, American Airlines Flight 924. Officials claim he said he had a bomb and refused to remove his hands from a bag he carried, though witnesses inside the aircraft dispute the claim that Alpizar verbalized any such bomb threat. Following the shooting, no explosives were found on the plane nor on his carry-on or other luggage. In a news conference later that day the FBI stated that Alpizar had no connections to terrorist organizations.

Alpizar was a resident of the central Florida town of Maitland, and worked in the paint department of a Home Depot home supply store. He was supposed to fly with his wife, Anne Buechner, who tried to avert the incident by running frantically after him and shouting that he was bipolar and had not taken his medication.

Shooting

The plane parked at the gate and passengers disembarked to be processed by customs and immigration officials. At approximately 2 PM EST, passengers continuing on to Orlando were re-boarding the plane.

After returning from customs, while the plane was finishing boarding and all 114 passengers were seated , Alpizar was having an argument with his wife . He got up from his seat saying "I have to get off the plane" and ran for the door which the flight crew had not yet closed. His wife chased after him yelling "He's sick." She was followed by an undercover air marshal. Two air marshals confronted him near the cockpit when, according to James E. Bauer, Alpizar "uttered threatening words that included a sentence to the effect that he had a bomb." He was told to stop but continued off of the plane and was confronted again in the jetway and told to get on the ground. When Alpizar didn't comply he allegedly reached into his bag and was shot. Conflicting reports put the number of shots between 3 and 6.

Reaction

Just hours later, in a nationally broadcast interview with All Things Considered's Michelle Norris, NPR reporter Eric Weiner reported Homeland Security official DeJames Bauer's assertion that Alpizar claimed to have a bomb in his carry-on bag. Recapping the events that lead to Alpizar's shooting, Weiner reported, "They were reboarding the flight, it was continuing to Orlando. That's when Federal Air Marshalls confronted this man. He was acting suspiciously, he claimed to have a bomb, Federal Air Marshalls told him to get on the ground. He did not comply". To date, no independent evidence has emerged verifying that Alpizar said he had a bomb. Several passengers on the flight have contradicted the government's claim, saying that they never heard Alpizar say anything about a bomb.

Two eye-witnesses, John McAlhany who said afterwards in an interview "I never heard the word 'bomb' on the plane," ... "I never heard the word bomb until the FBI asked me did you hear the word bomb." and another passenger, Mary Gardner, added: "I did not hear him say that he had a bomb."

No explosives found

After the shooting, police dogs sniffed all of the luggage for explosives. No bombs or explosives were found. Passengers were held on the plane at gunpoint until all luggage was cleared.

Mr McAlhany said he remembers having a shotgun pressed into his head by one officer, and hearing cries and screams from many passengers aboard the aircraft after the shooting in the jetway. "This was wrong," Mr McAlhany said. "This man should be with his family for Christmas. Now he’s dead."

The D concourse of Miami International Airport was temporarily evacuated following the shooting and was re-opened around 3 PM EST.

Alpizar was traveling with his wife, and had arrived in Miami from a missionary trip on a plane from Quito, Ecuador .

Significance

This incident marks the first time that a U.S. federal air marshal has shot at a passenger or suspect. Six days after Rigoberto's murder, the U.S. government gave the federal air marshals expanded powers to "identify suspicious passengers." The air marshals were "eager to conduct surveillance activities beyond the aircraft, and provide a beefed-up law enforcement presence at bus, train and public transit stations."

See also

External links

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