Air Marshalls on board a flight bound for Orlando shot and killed a man yesterday as he tried to run off of the plane:
MIAMI (AP) - Shortly after boarding an Orlando-bound plane, passengers say, they saw a man bolt from his seat and run down the aisle, with his screaming wife and man in a Hawaiian shirt behind.
“My husband! My husband!” one passenger said she heard the wife cry.
The chase ended moments later Wednesday in a Miami International Airport jetway, when authorities say Rigoberto Alpizar appeared to reach for his bag. He was shot to death by the man in the Hawaiian shirt and a second pursuer, both undercover air marshals.
Before he ran off the plane he “uttered threatening words that included a sentence to the effect that he had a bomb,” said James E. Bauer, agent in charge of the Federal Air Marshal Service field office in Miami.
Given the circumstances, the Air Marshalls acted appropriately. Also, I’m glad to hear that Air Marshalls are now being allowed to wear clothing which allows them to blend in with the other passengers. As you will recall, a while back there was a big stink over a memo which required Air Marshalls to wear suits and look professional at all times.
“She said it was her fault that he was bipolar,” said Mike Deshears, a Flight 924 passenger who works for a vacation club in Orlando. “He was sick and she had convinced him to get on the plane.”
It was the first time since the Sept. 11 attacks that an air marshal discharged a firearm at a passenger or suspect, Homeland Security Department spokesman Brian Doyle said.
Never, never let someone who is bi-polar and is off their medications to go out in public. It can only lead to trouble. Putting this man into a small, enclosed space was a huge mistake that has been paid for with his life.
Everyone should feel a little better tonight knowing that the Air Marshalls who are watching out for us seem to be up to the task.
