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Contrary to an earlier post based on LA Times coverage, the shooter at Los Angeles Airport was not a former TSA worker. [“A federal law enforcement official said that the gunman was a ticketed passenger entering the airport. Officials don’t believe the gunman has ever worked for TSA. Law enforcement sources had earlier told The Times the gunman was a TSA employee.”] At a press conference, Mayor Eric Garcetti said the situation is now “static”; flights are taking off and leaving the airport. Airport Chief Patrick Gannon said an individual pulled an “assault rifle” from a bag at 9:20am local time and shot an TSA Agent at the checkpoint. There are “multiple victims” and “other injuries.” He proceeded to a gate at Terminal 3 where he was engaged by airport police, shot and killed.

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96 COMMENTS

  1. Maybe we’ll finally get properly trained TSA agents that aren’t dumber than a box of nails at every airport. Granted I’ve never personally run into a stupid TSA agent but heard plenty of awful stories.

    • Yeah good, now we can get full body cavity searches performed on the elderly and children because we now have “properly trained TSA agents” exciting. I just can’t wait to deal with hothead TSA agents that will soon be militarized. /sarc

      • Hell they already molested a grandma in Grand Rapids in 2010, huge reforms there do to the douche bag TSA.

    • NOT A CHANCE. We need the TSA OUT of our airports, PDQ! Regular airport security will catch as many terrorists (zero) as TSA, probably more.

      I swear to God, when I first heard of this incident, I said, “it’s a TSA guy” to myself.

      At least (maybe) we’ll get hearings in Congress after this. They need to boot the thugs and petty criminals and let airports handle their own security. Which they did quite well, before the Toilet Security Agency.

    • Way back in the ’70s I worked as an unarmed gate security supervisor at John Wayne International Airport. We were VERY aware of our own vulnerability in the event of trouble, even more so on the occasions we actually uncovered weapons in carry-ons. As a result there was an armed Orange County Sheriff on duty at all times when a gate was active. Six shot S&W revolver, but at least it was something.

      How is it that in these days so called professionals at TSA believe that a bunch of metal detectors manned by unarmed TSA agents are adequate to stop an armed attacker from gaining access to the restricted areas of the terminal? Ludicrous.

  3. But I thought we could trust properly trained security personnel/police? Only untrained rednecks and teabaggers do these shooting sprees right?

    • Clearly, a determined “former” TSA agent would be more effective at an airport attack; he sees the procedures and weaknesses, the “seams” to use a football analogy, on a daily basis.

      • As mentioned above, when I worked airport security, I worked out six different ways to bypass out security procedures and walk directly onto a waiting airplane. I wrote them up and gave them t the senior Sheriff’s deputy on site and surprisingly enough each and every one was resoundingly ignored.

    • TSA personnel are not police, in any way. They are unarmed, have no police powers, and little legal training to speak of since they operate within a carved out area. Don’t lump them in with police… or, for that matter, actual security guards.

      • Sorry but I disagree.

        Isn’t the definition of a terrorist someone that instills terror. He instilled terror on thousands in the airport, and those in the surrounding area when they heard about “a shooting at LAX.” Also, don’t you think that at least California will now try to weaken gun rights more just because of this event? Would laws/rules on traveling with firearms change?

        Even though that might be a direct “turn on us” it still is as we will have to fight to keep our rights.

        • I will withhold further judgement until more is known, but this guy is ex- (or off-duty TSA) and he shot another TSA agent. It doesn’t sound (at the present) like he was walking through the airport indiscriminately shooting people. My Jump To Conclusions Mat says this may very well have been a disgruntled former employee, and any “terrorism” is incidental.

          I could turn out to be totally wrong, but those are the connections my mind draws.

        • Wrong, there is no terror “instilled” in “us” over this. Or the “U.S.” for that matter, either.

          • Agreed. You know what was instilled in us? Frustration. Frustration at the media. Frustration at the idiots that immediately yelled “False flag!” (Protip: When you’re doing more damage to our cause than the clearly and openly biased media, maybe it’s time to shut the fuck up.) Frustration for the people trying to make connections through LAX today.

            That’s what was instilled in us. Frustration. Not fear, not terror. Just a whole lot of facepalming and “Jesus, I don’t have time for this today.”

        • A terrorist is someone who uses terrorism as a tactic to achieve a political or military end. If this is a former TSA agent, who sought to kill his former co-workers than he is simply a murderer. If he sought to kill as many innocents as possible to strike fear in the hearts of everyday Americans, in order further some larger agenda, then he would be a terrorist.

          By your definition an old women having a seizure while operating a motor vehicle and driving into a crowd of people would be a terrorist. Yes her actions caused fear in a large number of people, but it wasn’t part of some larger scheme.

          I’m not minimizing the actions of this man, I just think that the term terrorist has been applied far to liberally by just about everyone.

        • Exactly. I hate that we’re to that point, but its pretty much facepalm as a response territory now.

          • Uh, Billy, I’m pretty sure JD was responding to imrambi, who I was also disagreeing with. So you just supported the guy who I agree with, while dinging me. Makes no sense.

  6. But I thought we could only trust with guns those who were professionally trained to handle guns like the police or federal law enforcement. Someone tell Shannon she needs to broaden the campaign to include federal agents.

    • TSA are not federal LEOs and are not armed. Airports use local PD for arrests, and only the PD are armed (except for the occasional US Marshall.). However, given the past history of the DHS, always trying to expand its power, there is a possibility that this incident will be used as an excuse to arm TSA agents and give them arrest powers. In every airport. In every train terminal. In every bus station. Beware the DHS–the age of the national police is upon us.

      • Don’t forget on streets and highways, shopping malls and sporting events. Which, even before this incident, was just around the corner.

        “Paperz pleez” has arrived. Cavity searches and other rapes are on the march.

      • To my surprise not too long ago when I visited the local Social Security office there were three ARMED TSA agents manning the metal detectors barring access to the actual waiting area. Meanwhile 30 or 40 of us stood helplessly out of their line of vision in a narrow and access-restricted gun-free zone hallway.

        Armed TSA? You betcha there is.

  8. By the way, I find this post amusing because CBS was reporting this almost an hour before the LATimes did.

  9. wait, so the gunman was a TSA agent, or the gunman killed a TSA agent??

    edit: nevermind, I missed the “former TSA agent part”

  10. Wait. Whut? Aren’t Assualt weapons illegal? Also, I thought it was illegal to bring a gun (any gun) into an airport? Wait, isn’t it illegal to kill someone? Non of this makes any sense. Maybe we need a new law against airports. Tell me that the cops didn’t shoot any dogs.

    • Technically, it is only illegal to bring a firearm into a secure area of an airport–otherwise you couldn’t check them with your luggage. But there was a case where the LAPD arrested a man who had a trunk full of firearms who was driving around the terminal on the access road, waiting to pick up a passenger. (He was planning on going to the range from the airport, but was deemed “suspicious,” stopped and arrested.)

      • I thought CA required direct transport from your home to an approved shooting area, and back, without stops? Wouldn’t driving to the airport be in opposition to the (ineffective/useless) law?

        • No. It has a destination requirement only for “registered assault weapons”

          I can have guns in my car all day long that aren’t RAWs. The only rules are, unless you have a CCW, handguns must be unloaded and in a locked container. The trunk counts as a locked container, but not a glove box. A rifle or shotgun can be out in the open, on the front seat, but must be unloaded. It too much be in a locked container/trunk if in a school zone.

          I very frequently have a gun or two or 6 in the car. It is not against the law.

          Destination requirements do apply to non vehicular transport, such as carrying a gun in a case while walking.

  11. It’s perfectly legal to bring a gun into an airport, as long as you follow the procedures and regs regarding traveling with them as checked luggage. It’s illegal to carry a loaded firearm and shoot people though.

    • Except in NY and NJ, where’s it’s legal under federal law, but they’ll arrest you anyway. Because they can.

    • In Washington state it is NOT illegal to carry a loaded firearm in an airport, outside the restricted security areas, if you have a Concealed Pistol License. It is, however, illegal to shoot people there without a really good reason.

      That said, I suspect you would still have an interesting interchange with law enforcement if you carelessly revealed your pistol, even though we are a supposedly open-carry state.

  12. “12:17 p.m.: A federal law enforcement official said that the gunman was a ticketed passenger entering the airport. Officials don’t believe the gunman has ever worked for TSA. Law enforcement sources had earlier told The Times the gunman was a TSA employee.”

    Humm…reminds me of the Men In Black.

    “No, what you ACTUALLY saw was swamp gas reflecting light from venus….”

  14. Headline from the New York Daily Snooze: “TSA worker dead after automatic rifle rampage”

    So are the authors stupid or just ignorant?

    • NYU School of Journalism interns. They work for the scraps that real reporters leave behind, and write most of the copy at the NYDN.

    • Well, according to the TTAG article, Airport Police Chief Gannon did say that the shooter used “an assault rifle”.

      So, technically the news reporter is reporting correctly, even if inadvertently, based on what the chief said.

      Of course, what are the chances that the chief and the reporter know a assault rifle from a modern sporting rifle? Zip or Nada?

      -bsd

      • In California, no difference between the two. Every MSR IS an AW. Only a matter of time before they put that slogan on their license plates.

  15. “Very strong anti-government views” says MSNBC.
    “Should social media be scanned by the NSA so that people with very strong anti-government views can be added to the prohibited persons list? Piers Morgan reports…”

    • Um, DHS has been scanning social media for years. Along with the NYPD (and probably the LAPD also).

  16. A former TSA employee killed a current TSA employee. Hmmm.

    I’m sorry, what was the problem here again? That there might not be enough TSA employees to grab my privates when I go through airport security?

  17. Instead of beating up on LEOs it seems that we should making the point that only the presence of people with guns stop this from being another mass shooting. This should be a win for our side and not for the gun grabbers. We don’t live in the MDA fantasy world where if you only take away guns nobody will ever get hurt. Our point is that criminals and madmen will use violence against innocent people. and that most of places we visit in our day-to-day lives are very soft targets and don’t have the presence of armed guards like an airport. That is why people should have the right to choose armed self defense so when a crazy or a terrorist shows up at the local mall that we can protect ourselves and in doing so protect others. So instead of fixating on what kind of gun was used or knocking TSA or LEOs perhaps we can do the cause some good by making sure everybody understands that a good guy with gun stopped a bad guy with a gun.

    And by way an “official” is a senior manager not the rank and file.

  18. “Man on the street interviewee” commented:

    Crazy people with guns, and nobody wants to give up their guns so this keep happening.

    • I heard that too. Way to practically disseminate the multitude of issues and facts associated with violence in America. When you get to Greece, please stay there.

  19. The more amazing event is here is that someone was likely fired by the TSA at some point. He had to be seven kinds of crazy to get that done.

  20. My girlfriend was flying last year and she noticed an air marshal on one of her flights. It was a woman, wearing a Hawaiian shirt with a pistol in a small of the back holster that she was having a great deal of trouble concealing during the flight.

    Airport security needs to be overhauled. TSA should be abandoned after the repeated, scandalous incidents we have seen since the agency was founded. Air marshals should police both airports and the flights themselves. They should also get some damn cross draw holsters.

    • I guess a trap door Springfield is an assault rifle. Back in the day a well trained solider might get 10 rounds in a minute.

      • There many are solutions to that particular problem, but for the sake of propriety, I won’t mention them here…

    • Heck, I can put all 14 rounds from my lever-action rifle into a coffee-can lid at 10 yards in less than 20 seconds. Assault rifle?

      Shannon has a lot of catching up to do. She seems to be stuck somewhere in the year 1801.

  23. The MSM is really trying real hard to change the story.

    Media claiming he is anti government because he was asking people if they were TSA. I didn’t know TSA had casual Friday.

    Idiots I swear.

  24. “suspect had anti-govt materials when detained.”

    My bet on what it was?

    The Declaration of Independence.

  25. I was watching a live feed on the LA Times website and an eyewitness stated that the suspect had a handgun and a shotgun–a pump shotgun.

  26. It’s always the places with the most restrictions that have the most shootings. I’m rapidly gaining respect for the power of “expectations.” Treat people like criminals and they’ll act that way. Here in Texas I can go to the Capitol. I can show my Concealed Carry License, and I’m allowed to bypass the line at the metal detector and go see the governor or whomever, armed and unsearched!

  33. This is going to be interesting. Are they going to focus on the gun like they do most of the time or are they going to run with the anti-government angle? Is this going to give the TSA more power now instead of getting rid of them? I dont want to be a conspiracy theorist but the timing and location of this stinks.

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