Shooting at LAX

[Gmash]

Suspect shot, in custody at LAX after TSA agent fired upon, killed - CNN.com

Los Angeles (CNN) -- A man "pulled an assault rifle out of a bag and
began to open fire" Friday morning in Los Angeles International Airport,
killing one person and injuring others before -- after a pursuit through
Terminal 3 -- before being taken into custody, police said.
The fatality was a TSA agent, according to an intelligence source
briefed by Los Angeles police and a federal source.
The suspected gunman was shot in the chest multiple times before
being taken into custody, according to an intelligence officer briefed by
Los Angeles police.
Earlier, Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center said it received three
male victims -- one in critical condition and two in fair condition. It
wasn't immediately known whether the slain TSA agent was one of
these three.
The episode caused what airport police Chief Patrick Gannon, who had
said the shooter used an "assault rifle," described as a "large amount
of chaos." People ran for their lives and took shelter wherever they
could, as authorities pursued the gunman.

 

[dibblebill]

First question: Was it an actual assault rifle, or people just jumping to conclusions?

 

[copestag]

First question: Was it an actual assault rifle, or people just jumping to conclusions?

it couldnt possibly be an "assault rifle"...... it was a real firearm that actually fired projectiles........ whereas an "assault rifle" is an imaginary item made up by those afraid of inanimate objects and therefore could not have been used to kill anyone

as for the actual shooting and details... I will wait a few days to weigh in....... it will take at least that long before any true facts are coming out...... I prefer not to perpetuate mass medias kneejerk presumptive reports

 

[dibblebill]

Shootings are no good in any case, but I'm wanting to see what the details are as well

 

[Gmash]

Some newer information coming out. Apparently he was going after TSA employees.

Los Angeles (CNN) -- A man armed with what police say was an
assault rifle and carrying materials expressing anti-government
sentiment opened fire Friday morning at Los Angeles International
Airport, killing one person before being chased down himself,
authorities said.
Eyewitnesses said the suspect asked people, "Hey, are you TSA?" --
the acronym for the Transportation Security Administration --
according to a federal law enforcement official. If they said "no," he
would move on.
In the aftermath of the shooting, investigators found information on the
suspect expressing not just anti-federal government sentiment but also
anger at the TSA specifically, according to the federal law enforcement
official.
By then, a TSA officer was dead -- the first employee of that relatively
new agency to be killed in the line of duty, according to American
Federation of Government Employees president J. David Cox.
Two others were also shot, FBI special agent in charge David Bowdich
said. At least one of them was a TSA employee who was shot in the
leg, according to a former Los Angeles Police Department ranking
officer who was briefed by investigators.
The suspected gunman himself was detained after being shot in the
chest multiple times, according to an intelligence source briefed by
Los Angeles police.
He was identified later by the FBI as Paul Anthony Ciancia, a 23-year-
old from Los Angeles. Law enforcement sources told CNN that, in
addition to the southern California city, the suspect also had an
address in New Jersey.

 

[dibblebill]

While I don't believe the TSA is an effective or necessary or moral part of government, it doesn't mean they deserve to be shot and killed. Not by any means.

 

[SiempreTuna]

whereas an "assault rifle" is an imaginary item

.. err .. given assault rifles are the primary infantry weapon of every army on the planet and have been for the last 30 or 40 years, I'd say you're about as far from the truth as you could possibly be there

The name comes from the what's generally accepted was the first one: the Sturmgewehr 44 ('Storm' or 'Assault' rifle 1944) developed and deployed by the Gernams in - you guessed it - 1944, making the Assault Rifle 70 years old next year.

Not a birthday any of us should be celebrating, of course

made up by those afraid of inanimate objects

.. seems that TSA agent had a very good reason to be afraid of that 'inanimate' object .. or 'object': the 'inanimate' bit is kinda implied.

Also, I'm not entirely sure where people get this bizarre idea that calling a killing machine an 'object' in any way changes the fact it's a machine made for killing - and that's something that ought to scare everyone, no

 

[copestag]

do you call them assault knives or assault arrows? how about assault bombs or assault poison.... just curious if your fascination with the imaginary term assault to describe inanimate objects carries over to other weapons designed for the sole purpose of killing

I dont think the TSA agent had any fear of the weapon used in the attack...... I imagine he feared the psycho firing it though

from someone who has been shot at with "assault" rifles on more than a few occasions..... I can say I never once feared the weapon.... it was always an inanimate object....... it never tried to sneak up on me while I was sleeping...... it never whispered bad things about me behind my back.... it never did anything....... the people firing those weapons did

 

[pbf98]

I don't believe assault rifle is the made up term, I've heard them referred to as that for many years before all the recent shooting. The made up term in the recent years, which I believe you may be confusing it with, is "assault weapon" that is the term the politicians were trying to label pretty much any rifle as. While the AR in AR15 does not stand for assault rifle, the term has been used for many years and is fairly widely accepted.

Everyone can react to a situation differently, and it is not right to put your thoughts and experiences in place of theirs which are unknown. While guns are intimate objects which won't do much with out interaction from a human, people can still fear them. In WWII there was a gun used by the Germans called the MG42 this gun was feared by US and allied soldiers, it was feared so much they gave it the nickname Hitler's Buzz Saw. This gun was capable of firing 1200 rounds per minute, that's 20 rounds a second.. Something that can throw that much lead at someone whether or not it be inanimate or not can be feared. Telling people what they can and can't fear is just as bad as the ones that have the fear telling those who don't they can't do what ever it is they fear.