Paul Ciancia, 23, is the man accused of the shooting at Los Angeles International Airport, and is pleading not guilty to murder and to the attempted murder charges. Ciancia left one security officer dead and others wounded. Ciancia pleaded not guilty at a hearing in county jail at Rancho Cucamonga, California, where he’s being held after being shot by airport police according to Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for U.S attorney’s office. There are no indications if the Justice Department will seek the death penalty in the case.
An affidavit filed on November 1st in support of a criminal complaint. Paul Ciancia of Los Angeles, shot at point blank range, a Transportation Security Administration officer with a Smith and Wesson assault rifle. After shooting the officer he proceeded to go to the escalator but when he noticed the officer was moving, he went back and shot him again, killing him, according to prosecutors.
According to the affidavit, before Ciancia was shot by airport police he allegedly shot two more Transportation Security Administration employees and a civilian passenger. A note was found, carried by Ciancia read, he made “the conscious decision to try to kill” and wanted to instill fear in the “traitorous minds” of TSA employees.
On November 17th Ciancia was indicted on 11 counts by a federal grand jury also including, the murder of a federal employee engaged in his official duties and attempted murder of the two TSA officers. The trial for Ciancia is scheduled for February 11, 2014 in federal court in Los Angeles, Mrozek said in an e-mail.
Image Credit: The Australian.com
