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!"# (+*:;*+),
0n the moining of Novembei 1, 2u1S, a public shooting biought one of the
nation's busiest aiipoits to a stanustill; killing one TSA agent anu injuiing multiple
otheis.
At 9:2u a.m., Paul Anthony Ciancia enteieu Teiminal S of Los Angeles
Inteinational Aiipoit anu walkeu up to a Tianspoitation Secuiity Auministiation
checkpoint. This is when Ciancia pulleu out a .2SS-calibei assault iifle fiom his
uuffle bag anu shot TSA officei ueiaiuo Beinanuez in the chest. Ciancia then went
up an escalatoi, befoie ietuining to shoot Beinanuez again aftei he appaiently saw
him move. Afteiwaius, he continueu to walk aiounu the aiipoit shooting, anu
accoiuing to witnesses, Ciancia went fiom peison to peison asking the same
question, "Aie you TSA." (Abuollah)
Aiipoit Police 0fficeis eventually shot the suspect five minutes aftei the
attack began, anu weie able to take him into custouy. 0nce the suspect was in
custouy, a 26-yeai olu LA Police 0fficei checkeu on Beinanuez seveial times. Be
then tolu officeis fiom vaiious agencies "he's ueau," which leu to no officeis
ienueiing fiist aiu on scene. (Abuollah) Police aie often the fiist at the scene, which
is why Califoinia law iequiies officeis to ieceive fiist aiu anu CPR tiaining while in
the acauemy anu iegulai iefiesheis tiaining afteiwaiu.
Beinanuez laiu shot about 2u feet fiom an exit without meuical attention,
while police weie unsuie if the teiminal was safe foi paiameuics to entei. Foi SS
minutes, Beinanuez bleu out befoie being put in a wheelchaii anu taken out of the
teiminal. Be was ueclaieu ueau at Ronalu Reagan 0CLA Neuical Centei. Beinanuez
was the fiist TSA officei killeu in the line of uuty since the cieation of TSA in 2uu1.
0nce the aiea was secuie, officeis' ietiieveu Ciancias uuffle bag wheie a note
was founu insiue .The note expiesseu his angei towaius TSA, saying that he wanteu
to "kill TSA" anu stii feai in them, he also ciiticizeu theii seaiches as
unconstitutional. (Abuollah)



<)33:,+2;*+), =;+>:0#
Buiing eveiy ciisis, it is impoitant foi oiganizations to ielay official
infoimation quickly anu accuiately to the public. A ciisis communication plan is a
impoitant tool to use when choosing what messagesinfoimation will best infoim
the public, anu with the most coiiect infoimation. Bowevei, in the case of the LAX
shooting, the meuia was left speculating without any infoimation fiom official
souices.
Repoiteis gatheieu at the scene to covei the bieaking news stoiy, but moie
then 9u minutes into the ciisis, theie was still no official infoimation available foi
the public. Still with no sight of the spokespeison fiom the LAPB oi LAX Aiipoit, the
meuia was foiceu to make speculations when tiying to infoim the public. Insteau of
official statements fiom the LAPB oi LAX Aiipoit, inteiviews with eyewitnesses anu
"so-calleu" expeits iepeateu on the news netwoiks. In auuition, neithei website tolu
of any infoimation iegaiuing the inciuent.

?@@#2*A ), !0;B#>#0A
The shooting affecteu moie then 16S,uuu passengeis on hunuieus of flights, anu
foiceu the busy aiipoit to completely shut uown foi houis. (Welkei) Police anu
aiipoit officials attempteu to keep oiuei by pieventeu passengeis fiom moving to
othei teiminals.
}esse Piouuman, a 29-yeai olu tech company CE0, was insiue of LAX at the time
of the shooting. Be tolu the meuia, "They'ie holuing us at Teiminal 4, they won't let
anyone past Teiminal S anu they'ie yelling anu chasing aftei people who tiy to get
by." (Popken) Nany fiustiaiteu passengeis useu social meuia to voice theii angei
iegaiuing all flights being helu.
The entiie aiipoit, incluuing teiminal S, was ieopeneu by eaily Satuiuay
moining. But accoiuing to Aiipoit Police Chief, Patiick uannon, by then secuiity was
out in foice as they "enhanceu ueployment," incluuing LAPB officeis anu aii
maishals, in auuition to aiipoit police. (Botelho & Simon)


!"# ?@@#2*+B#,#AA )@ &+0C)0* (#2:0+*.
It is the iesponsibility of TSA agents to keep weapons off of planes, but they
aie not alloweu to caiiy a weapon oi make aiiests. Both aiipoit authoiities anu
local police aie iesponsible foi secuiing public aieas in fiont of checkpoints. The
AFuE saiu that the shooting pioves the neeu to expanu TSA's authoiity. (Tooi)
Nany ongoing uebates iegaiuing the effectiveness of aiipoit secuiity aiose
following the shooting; the uebates leu to many suggestions as to how LAX coulu
impiove theii aiipoit secuiity. The union that iepiesenteu TSA believeu that the
agency shoulu aim ceitain employees anu assign them to a specific checkpoint,
while otheis believeu a class of new law enfoicement officeis was neeueu. (The
Euitoiial Boaiu)
Tom Riuge, foimei secietaiy foi the 0niteu States Bepaitment of Bomelanu
Secuiity, uiu not agiee with the suggestion to aim TSA officeis anu calleu it a "big
mistake." (Naish)
TSA Auministiatoi, }ohn S. Pistole, also iesponueu to the suggestions by
stating, "|0fficei safetyj is something we have uealt with ieally since the stanuup of
TSA, knowing that in many iespects TSA employees aie the fiist line of uefense
when it comes to aiipoit secuiity paiticulaily. Anu so given this tiageuy, we will
obviously look at anu ieview oui policies with aiipoit police both heie at LAX anu of
couise aiounu the countiy." (Naish)
Thiee uays aftei the shooting, }. Baviu Cox Si., National Piesiuent of the
Ameiican Feueiation of uoveinment Employees; a union iepiesenting the nation's
4S,uuu aiipoit scieeneis, ieleaseu this statement.
"We want to make suie we aie uoing eveiything possible to secuie scieening
aieas at oui nation's aiipoits. At this time, we feel a laigei anu moie consistent
aimeu piesence in scieening aieas woulu be a positive step in impioving secuiity
foi both TS0s anu the flying public. The uevelopment of a new class of TSA officeis
with law enfoicement status woulu be a logical appioach to accomplishing this
goal." "We pleuge to woik with TSA anu Congiess to exploie all pioposals to make
oui aiipoits safei." (Kauffman)
}eff Piice, an aviation secuiity expeit anu piofessoi at the Netiopolitan State
0niveisity of Benvei, saiu, "this is ieally an issue foi aiipoit law enfoicement. Piice
has wiitten a book about aiipoit secuiity, anu has also tiaineu LAX officeis in the
past. Be tolu !"# %#&'# that it woulu be "incieuibly costly anu likely oveikill" to aim
TSA agents, but an impioveu piesence of local law enfoicement woulu be a "safei
anu moie cost-effective" stiategy. Piice auueu, "Scieening anu law enfoicement aie
two sepaiate functions anu shoulu be tieateu as such." (Tooi)
Aviation secuiity expeits iecognize that a laigei aimeu piesence in the
aiipoit coulu piotect TSA agents fiom futuie attacks, but nothing is a guaiantee.
Although TSA officeis aie not alloweu to caiiy a fiieaim, Califoinia law
iequiies police officeis to ieceive fiist aiu anu CPR tiaining; both in the acauemy
anu iegulaily aftei. Bowevei, a iecent auuit by Los Angeles Police Commission
Inspectoi, ueneial Alex Bustmante, founu that the LAPB hau a zeio peicent
compliance iate. In fact, only 2Su of the uepaitments 9,9uu swoin officeis ieceiveu
iefieshei tiaining. (Welkei)

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}ohn Pistole calleu the shooting a "significant event" that will foice them to
ieview theii secuiity pioceuuies with othei agencies. A few uays aftei the event,
Pistole spoke out by saying, "this gives us gieat concein, so we'll look at what aie
policies aie." G(HIJ<?K 2,,L
This was not the fiist time a situation like this has occuiieu in an aiipoit. In
the past, TSA has iesponueu to inciuents with veiy specific policy changes.
Aftei the uevastating teiioiist attack of Septembei 11
th
, 2uu1, LAX spent $1.6
billion on impioving theii secuiity. The impiovements incluueu auuing
appioximately 2Su aiipoit secuiity peisonnel anu expanuing the aiipoit's
suiveillance system. Ten yeais latei, a stuuy founu that the impiovements maue the
aiipoit safei. Bowevei, the neeu foi stiongei cooiuination between aiipoit
authoiities anu local law enfoicement was still neeueu. (Tooi)
In 2uu1, Richaiu Reiu, a self-pioclaimeu Al-Qaeua opeiative, got on an
Ameiican Aiiline flight weaiing shoes filleu with explosives. If not foi his feet
peispiiation moistening the explosives, Reiu woulu have been successful at his
attempt to blow up the plain. This leu TSA to make policy changes, iequiiing all
passengeis to iemove theii shoes at secuiity checkpoints. (Tooi)
In 2uu9, a Noithwest Aiilines flight was the taiget of an Al-Qaeua bombing
attack. 0n Chiistmas uay, 0mai Foiouk Abuulmutallab got on the plane while
concealing a small bomb in his unueiweai. (The Euitoiial Boaiu) Abuulmutallab was
unsuccessful in his attempt. Bowevei, just like in 2uu1, TSA was foiceu to make a
policy change, leauing to the intiouuceu bouy scanneis at 0S aiipoits. (Tooi)
Some ciitics have attackeu these past policy changes, calling them
ieactionaiy anu invasive.

M,B#A*+-;*+),A
A couple weeks aftei the shooting, the coionei's office ieleaseu theii
finuings, which weie that Beinanuez hau uieu within two to five minutes aftei he
was shot. Bowevei, Assistant Chief Coionei Eu Wintei iepoiteu that the official time
of ueath was much latei than the finuings his office submitteu. In fact, uoctois weie
tiying to biing Beinanuez back to life, anu he was not ueclaieu ueau until 4S
minutes aftei aiiiving at the hospital; this was two houis aftei he was shot.
Seveial agencies also conuucteu investigations following the shooting to
ueteimine whethei paiameuics shoulu have been cleaieu to entei the teiminal
eailiei to aiu the wounueu. The Los Angeles Police Bepaitment also openeu an
investigation on the officei who allegeuly impiopeily tolu emeigency iesponueis
that Beinanuez was ueau when he checkeu on him shoitly aftei the shooting.
G(HIJ<?K N;+>.3;+>L

O";* P;A *"# +AA:#Q
Aimeu police officeis weie stationeu at TSA checkpoints until eailiei this
yeai. That is when they shifteu to patiolling outsiue teiminals as pait of an initiative
to make the foice moie uynamic. (Tooi)
Accoiuing to a law enfoicement souice, aiipoit police hau been complaining
to theii union that they weie "boieu with the assignment" of being stationeu behinu
TSA checkpoints. (Naish) This also coulu of aiueu in the iepositioning of aiipoit
police officeis at LAX Aiipoit. But in the wake of the shooting, many questions
eiupteu iegaiuing the iecent iepositioning.
The uay aftei the shooting, uannon explaineu that he hau ueciueu to move
officeis in fiont of TSA secuiity checkpoints within the last yeai. This alloweu them
to take on "gieatei iesponsibility" when it comes to monitoiing both the aiiival anu
uepaituie floois of the teiminal. Bowevei, uannon nevei auuiesseu the claims that
aiipoit police officeis weie "boieu" with the assignment. "0ui officeis weie
ueployeu wheie they weie supposeu to be anu peifoimeu heioically in this
paiticulai mattei," uannon saiu. (Naish)
At the time, theie weie also many complaints being maue about LAX Aiipoit
police officeis. TSA management hau iecently been complaining that aiipoit police
officeis weie not paying full attention while on the job. Nany weie on theii phones
oi uoing things like ieauing a book, insteau of constantly watching anu piotecting
the aiea like they weie suppose to.
victoi Payes woiks at LAX anu is the piesiuent of the local union. Be ieleaseu
the following statement to the meuia aftei the shooting. "I basically think theie's a
lack of cooiuination between entities at this aiipoit. That lack of cooiuination may
have leu to something that shoulun't have happeneu, we may be talking about
0fficei Beinanuez as a suivivoi." (Welkei)
The FBI investigateu the iesponse of aiipoit police officeis uuiing the
shooting, anu inuicateu that the officeis "weie 6u seconus behinu the suspect." They
auueu that the two weie wheie they weie supposeu to be anu they ieacteu how
they weie suppose to. (Naish)







O)0DA <+*#N


Abuollah, Tami. "LAX Shooting: TSA 0fficei Beinanuez Bleu foi SS Ninutes at
Scene." ()* (#+,. N.p., 1S Nov. 2u1S. Web. u4 Bec. 2u1S.

Botelho, uieg, anu Ban Simon. "LAX Suspect Shot TSA 0fficei, Walkeu Away, Then
Retuineu to Shoot Bim Again." *((. Cable News Netwoik, u2 Nov. 2u1S. Web. u4
Bec. 2u1S.

The Euitoiial Boaiu. "Aiming the T.S.A. Is Not a Solution." (-./0#,1230. The New
Yoik Times, u4 Nov. 2u1S. Web. u4 Bec. 2u1S.

Kauffman, Tim. "TSA 0nion Calls foi Review of Safety Pioceuuies at Secuiity
Checkpoints." 45'#13&'. AFuE, u4 Nov. 2u1S. Web. u4 Bec. 2u1S.

Naish, Nike N. Ahleis anu Rene. "LAX Shooting Reignites Bebate ovei TSA Woikeis'
Role in Secuiity." *((. Cable News Netwoik, uS Nov. 2u1S. Web. u4 Bec. 2u1S.

Popken, Ben. "Flight Belays Sweep acioss 0S aftei LAX Shooting." ()* (#+,. N.p., u1
Nov. 2u1S. Web. u4 Bec. 2u1S.

Tooi, Amai. "The veige." 6"7. *78 4/&93&., :3 .3 ;&#<#8. 483."#& =4> ?"33./8'@
The veige, uS Nov. 2u1S. Web. u4 Bec. 2u1S.

Welkei, Kiisten, anu Becky Biatu. "uunman 0pens Fiie at LAX, Killing TSA Woikei
anu Wounuing 0theis." ()* (#+,. N.p., 2 Nov. 2u1S. Web. u4 Bec. 2u1S.