Paul Anthony Ciancia
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On November 1, 2013, a
terrorist attack Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war a ...
occurred at around 9:20 a.m. PDT in Terminal 3 of the
Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles and its Greater Los Angeles, surrounding metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of California. LAX is located in the Westchester, Los Angeles, Westcheste ...
. 23-year-old Paul Anthony Ciancia opened fire with a rifle, killing a
Transportation Security Administration The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that has authority over the security of transportation systems within and connecting to the United States. It was created ...
officer and injuring several other people.


Shooting

On the morning of Friday, November 1, 2013, Ciancia entered Terminal 3 of
Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles and its Greater Los Angeles, surrounding metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of California. LAX is located in the Westchester, Los Angeles, Westcheste ...
after being dropped off there by a roommate. He was carrying a bag filled with a semiautomatic, .223-caliber Smith & Wesson M&P-15 rifle, five 30-round magazines, and hundreds of additional rounds of ammunition contained in boxes.Los Angeles Airport Police The Los Angeles Airport Police is the airport police division of Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), the city department that owns and operates two airports in Los Angeles: Los Angeles International Airport and Van Nuys Airport. It has more tha ...
"/> Walking up to a TSA checkpoint, he pulled the rifle out of the bag and opened fire, shooting TSA Officer Gerardo Hernandez in the chest at point-blank range. He then went up an escalator, but returned to the checkpoint and shot Hernandez again after seeing him move. Ciancia then moved up the
escalator An escalator is a moving staircase which carries people between floors of a building or structure. It consists of a Electric motor, motor-driven chain of individually linked steps on a track which cycle on a pair of tracks which keep the st ...
into the TSA screening area, passed the checkpoint area, and moved farther into the secure airside area of the terminal. At the time, many people fled by going into the concourse area or through doors leading into the airfield. Others ran into the restaurant where staff locked the metal security doors and ordered customers to take cover under the restaurant's tables. Entering the concourse area, Ciancia continued firing, wounding two TSA agents and a passenger. People hiding in the concourse area then fled the terminal through street exits.Los Angeles Airport Police The Los Angeles Airport Police is the airport police division of Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), the city department that owns and operates two airports in Los Angeles: Los Angeles International Airport and Van Nuys Airport. It has more tha ...
"/> One witness, interviewed on
CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
, said the gunman was walking, not running, down the terminal's concourse, and actor
Tim Daly James Timothy Daly (born March 1, 1956) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Joe Hackett on the NBC sitcom '' Wings'' and his recurring role as drug-addicted screenwriter J.T. Dolan on ''The Sopranos.'' He starred as Pete ...
reported hearing shooting while in
Virgin America Virgin America Inc. was a low-cost airline headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area city of Burlingame, California. It primarily focused on operating low-fare, higher-quality service between cities on the West Coast of the United States a ...
's "The Loft" lounge. According to several witnesses, Ciancia repeatedly asked passersby if they were TSA agents and then moved on without shooting when they said no. At 9:20 a.m., the first calls to
9-1-1 911, sometimes written , is an emergency telephone number for Argentina, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Fiji, Jordan, Mexico, Pakistan, Maldives, Palau, Panama, Iraq, the Philippines, Sint Maarten, the United States, and Uruguay, as well as ...
were made, followed by the arrival of the first LAX officers two minutes later.Los Angeles Airport Police The Los Angeles Airport Police is the airport police division of Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), the city department that owns and operates two airports in Los Angeles: Los Angeles International Airport and Van Nuys Airport. It has more tha ...
"/> Ciancia made it as far as the end of the terminal in the
food court A food court (in Asia-Pacific also called food hall or hawker centre) is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food Vendor, vendors and provides a common area for self-serve di ...
, where LAX police officers confronted him and shot him in a gunfight. He was wounded four times by gunshots and captured. He was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. Police were unsure whether the terminal was safe for paramedics to enter, and as a result TSA Officer Hernandez did not receive medical care for 33 minutes after being shot, despite bleeding heavily about 20 feet from an exit. Eventually Officer Hernandez was put in a wheelchair and removed from the terminal. Witnesses saw a rifle with three magazines nearby on the floor of the waiting area near gates 35 and 36.


Victims


Fatality

The gunman shot TSA Officer Gerardo I. Hernandez, age 39, at the airport. He was shot 12 times, consisting of 6 shots to his lower back and buttocks, and severe wounds to vital places, including the heart and spinal cord. In all, 40 bullet fragments were removed from his body. Hernandez was transported to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead around 11am, although officials from the Los Angeles County coroner's office asserted that he was dead within a few minutes of being shot. Hernandez is the first TSA officer in the history of the agency to have been killed on the job. A behavior detection officer, Hernandez had immigrated to the United States from
El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
at age 15.


Injuries

Seven victims were treated at the scene. Three victims were wounded by gunfire, including two TSA officers, identified as 54-year-old James Speer and 36-year-old Tony Grigsby; Grigsby was shot in the foot. The third shooting victim was 29-year-old Brian Ludmer, a schoolteacher from
Lake Forest, Illinois Lake Forest is a city located in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 19,367. The city is along the shore of Lake Michigan, and is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area and t ...
, who was shot in the leg. Six victims were transported to area hospitals, including three men, two of whom had suffered gunshot wounds, who were treated at
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center (also commonly referred to as UCLA Medical Center, RRMC or Ronald Reagan) is a hospital located on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, United S ...
. Some of the injuries were confirmed to have been caused by other factors, not gunshot wounds. Law enforcement officers shot Ciancia four times, including wounds in the head and leg. They subdued him in the food court area of Terminal 3 and kicked the rifle away from him. He was then transported to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where he was initially in critical condition. Video from
KCAL-TV KCAL-TV (channel 9) is an independent television station in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is owned by the CBS News and Stations group alongside CBS West Coast flagship KCBS-TV (channel 2). The two stations share studios at the ...
shows Ciancia brought into the hospital from an ambulance, surrounded by multiple police officers, while handcuffed to a
gurney A stretcher, gurney, litter, or pram is an apparatus used for moving patients who require medical care. A basic type (cot or litter) must be carried by two or more people. A wheeled stretcher (known as a gurney, trolley, bed or cart) is often ...
.


Perpetrator

Perpetrator Paul Anthony Ciancia was 23 at the time of the attack. An unemployed car mechanic, he lived in the Sun Valley neighborhood of
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
and grew up in
Pennsville, New Jersey Pennsville Township is a township in Salem County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is named for William Penn. It is the westernmost town in New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 12,684, a ...
. In 2008, Ciancia graduated from
Salesianum School Salesianum School is a Catholic independent school for boys located in Wilmington, Delaware. It is run independently within the Diocese of Wilmington and is operated by the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales. The current enrollment is about 930 s ...
in
Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...
. After the shooting ended, Ciancia was found to be carrying a note stating that he "wanted to kill TSA" officers and describing them as "pigs". It also mentioned "
fiat currency Fiat money is a type of government-issued currency that is not backed by a precious metal, such as gold or silver, nor by any other tangible asset or commodity. Fiat currency is typically designated by the issuing government to be legal tender, ...
" and "NWO", the latter likely being a reference to the New World Order conspiracy theory. On the day of the shooting and before Ciancia was identified as the suspect, the
LAPD The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...
went to his residence when concerned family members wanted to file a missing persons report after not having heard from him after repeated attempts to make contact. Ciancia was not at home at the time and his roommates told them that he had been there earlier in the day. The police left and could not file a report, because they had no confirmation on where he was. Ciancia had talked about taking his own life a few days earlier. According to reports, on the day of the shooting, Ciancia burst into the room of an unidentified roommate and demanded him to drive him to the airport immediately, and the roommate, not sensing any intention of committing violence, agreed to do so. Days prior to the shooting, Ciancia had begun asking for a ride to the airport so he could fly back to New Jersey, claiming that his father was ill.


Aftermath


Immediate reaction

Los Angeles Airport Police The Los Angeles Airport Police is the airport police division of Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), the city department that owns and operates two airports in Los Angeles: Los Angeles International Airport and Van Nuys Airport. It has more tha ...
evacuated several terminals and searched for any other possible suspects. They searched in cars with armed officers and a bomb-sniffing dog at the nearby parking garages that are connected to airport terminals by pedestrian bridges. The
Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...
grounded all outbound flights at the airport. Runways 24L and 24R were shut down. Terminals 1, 2, and 3 were shut down and the 300 passengers were evacuated from these terminals to the Tom Bradley International Terminal for questioning, and then were re-screened as they exited the international terminal. Airlines diverted some flights to other airports in the
Greater Los Angeles Area Greater Los Angeles is the most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. state of California, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino County and Riverside County in the east, ...
. Most were directed to
Ontario International Airport Ontario International Airport is an international airport east of downtown Ontario, California, Ontario, in San Bernardino County, California, United States, about east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino. It is ow ...
, and others to
Long Beach Airport Long Beach Airport is a public airport northeast of downtown Long Beach, California, Long Beach, in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is also called Daugherty Field, named after local aviator Earl Daugherty. The airport was an ...
. Most of the diverted flights were originally scheduled to taxi to gates at Terminals 1, 2, and 3. Over 1,500 flights and 171,000 passengers were affected by the incident.Los Angeles Airport Police The Los Angeles Airport Police is the airport police division of Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), the city department that owns and operates two airports in Los Angeles: Los Angeles International Airport and Van Nuys Airport. It has more tha ...
"/> Later that afternoon, Ciancia's family released a statement, saying that they were "shocked and numbed" by his actions and also expressing their sympathies to the family of Gerardo Hernandez, and also to the wounded victims.


Security and emergency response

The shooting reignited ongoing debates over the effectiveness of airport security, with some commentators suggesting the arming of TSA officers with guns. In response to these suggestions, TSA Administrator John S. Pistole commented, " fficer safetyis something we have dealt with really since the standup of TSA, knowing that in many respects TSA employees are the first line of defense when it comes to airport security particularly. And so given this tragedy, we will obviously look at and review our policies with airport police both here at LAX and of course around the country."
Tom Ridge Thomas Joseph Ridge (born August 26, 1945) is an American politician and author who served in the Presidency of George W. Bush, George W. Bush administration as the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security from 2001 to 2003 and as the U ...
, the former secretary for the
United States Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the Interior minister, interior, Home Secretary ...
, criticized the suggestion of arming TSA officers, calling it a "big mistake" and saying, "You have literally hundreds and hundreds of armed police officers roaming every major airport in America. And I don't think arming another 40 or 50 or 60 thousand people ... would have prevented this incident from happening." On January 22, 2014, it was revealed that the two unarmed officers assigned to the area had gone on a break at the time of the shooting, without carrying out the requirement of informing a dispatcher, with one being at the bathroom of an adjacent terminal. In response to the new details, airport police union chief Marshall McClain stated that the two officers were still capable of quickly responding to the shooting, adding, "I want to make sure that in any terminal, there's always somebody there, that a bathroom break doesn't result in somebody, even for a few minutes, being out of the action." On March 18, 2014, a released 83-page report highlighted flaws in various divisions and current systems of the airport, adding that emergency response had been hindered by "communication problems and poor coordination". The report also laid out an estimated 50 recommendations, including one for training airport police to be trained in tactical medicine and for training paramedics to enter more dangerous zones earlier with the protection of law enforcement. In addition, it was critical of the current airport emergency management program, saying that it was "not well-defined or widely understood across the agency, or perhaps even respected". It was also reported that at the time of the shooting, the airport's lower-level employees was not trained for an evacuation and did not know what to do or how to help passengers. Jeffrey David Cox Sr., the president of the
American Federation of Government Employees The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is an American labor union representing over 750,000 employees of the federal government, about 5,000 employees of the District of Columbia, and a few hundred private sector employees, mostly ...
representing these workers, called the lack of coordination "absolutely unacceptable" and criticized the report as being incomplete and failing to note the two airport officers who were not on their shifts at the time of the shooting. On June 6, 2014, Rep. Richard Hudson (R, NC-8) introduced the Gerardo Hernandez Airport Security Act of 2014 (H.R. 4802; 113th Congress) in response to the findings about events of the shooting. The bill would have directed the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through the
Transportation Security Administration The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that has authority over the security of transportation systems within and connecting to the United States. It was created ...
, to undertake a variety of activities aimed at enhancing security at airports where TSA performs oversees security-related activities. The bill would also have required TSA to verify that all such airports had plans in place for responding to security threats and to provide technical assistance as necessary to improve such plans. H.R. 4802 also would have required TSA to disseminate information on best practices for addressing security threats and ensure that all screening personnel have received training in how to handle potential shooting threats. Finally, H.R. 4802 would have required the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Cybersecurity and Communications to report to the Congress on the capacity of law enforcement, fire, and medical response teams to communicate and respond to security threats at airports. H.R. 4802 passed the House on July 22, 2014, but did not advance in the U.S. Senate. The following year, Rep. John Katko of New York introduced the similar bill H.R. 720, which did pass both houses of Congress and was enacted as Public Law 114-50.


Charges and prosecution

On November 2, 2013, federal prosecutors charged Ciancia with murder of a federal officer and committing violence at an international airport. Ciancia also faced additional federal and/or state charges, including attempted murder in relation to the two men who were wounded by gunfire. On November 19, 2013, Ciancia was released from hospital care after recovering from his gunshot wounds; he was taken into custody by agents from the
United States Marshals Service The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The Marshals Service serves as the enforcement and security arm of the United States federal judi ...
. On December 5, 2013, Ciancia appeared for the first time in court, where he was
remanded Remand may refer to: * Remand (court procedure), when an appellate court sends a case back to the trial court or lower appellate court * Pre-trial detention, detention of a suspect prior to a trial, conviction, or sentencing See also *'' Remando ...
without bail because he posed a threat to the community. On December 17, 2013, a federal
grand jury A grand jury is a jury empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand ju ...
indicted Ciancia on 11 counts, including first-degree murder. This raised the possibility that he could have received the death penalty if he was convicted. The indictment described how the offence involved substantial planning and premeditation to cause the death of a person and to commit an act of terrorism. On December 26, 2013, Ciancia pleaded not guilty to the charge of first-degree murder. On March 3, 2014, a judge ordered that Ciancia be moved from a treatment facility at a San Bernardino County jail to a federal detention facility in Los Angeles. His case was initially set for trial on February 11, 2014, but this was then postponed several times and December 8, 2014. In January 2015, federal prosecutors announced they would seek the
death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...
against Ciancia. On January 5, 2015, it was announced that Ciancia's trial was projected to begin on February 23, 2016. On September 6, 2016, Ciancia pleaded guilty in exchange for a
life sentence Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life imprisonment are c ...
. On November 7, 2016, Ciancia was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole plus 60 years. As of 2025 he is incarcerated in the
United States Penitentiary, Atwater The United States Penitentiary, Atwater (USP Atwater) is a high-security United States federal prison for male inmates in unincorporated Merced County, California. The institution also includes a minimum-security satellite camp. It is operated by ...
.


See also

*
1996 Timika shooting The 1996 Timika shooting () was a mass shooting that took place on 15 April 1996 at the Mozes Kilangin Airport, Timika, Irian Jaya (now Central Papua), Indonesia, by a member of Kopassus Sec. Lt. Sanurip. Sixteen people were killed and eleven ...
* 2017
Fort Lauderdale airport shooting On January 6, 2017, a mass shooting occurred at Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport in Broward County, Florida, United States, near the baggage claim in Terminal 2. Five people were killed while six others were injured in the shoo ...
*
2002 Los Angeles International Airport shooting On July 4, 2002, a lone gunman opened fire at the ticket counter of El Al, Israel's national airline, at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California, United States. In the terrorist attack, two people were killed, and four othe ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Los Angeles International Airport shooting, 2013 2013 crimes in California 2013 in Los Angeles 2013 mass shootings in the United States 2013 murders in the United States Attacks on airports in the United States Attacks on buildings and structures in California Crimes in Los Angeles Deaths by firearm in California Los Angeles International Airport Mass shootings in California November 2013 crimes in the United States Incidents involving the sovereign citizen movement Transportation Security Administration Mass shootings involving AR-15–style rifles