NEWS: US Air Marshal Shoots Passenger on Flight from Columbia

One thing that bothers me about this, but this is just preliminary and has no confirmation, but these "witnesses" describe "several" shots, 5-6 times.

I'm not sure if they needed to shoot him that many times to disable him...but again...still too early to know for sure

You can DISABLE a Suspect by NOT Killing him, you know.

There are ways to SHOOT a Suspect, without Killing him, you know.

But, I guess, MARSHALS are not Skilled in that Techniques, huh?

The goal isn't to disable. They're trained that if they have to shoot, you shoot to kill. If you disable they can still reach a detonator, pull the pin, pull the trigger, etc. You don't take a chance on wounding someone, and being able to reach them before they can set off their bomb, or whatever they have. Again it's a toss up between one life, or hundreds.

[edit on 12/7/2005 by Zaphod58]

Yes. It is needed.

Not 5 or 6 times, but you do not know where bomb(s) could be - you not only have to ensure that he cannot reach into his bag.


@Souljah, you simply know nothing about "human bomb" threats.

[edit on 7-12-2005 by Riwka]

I wonder why he didnt have his medication. Maybe he didnt have the money to buy it prior to the flight. In any case its a darn shame- I am not bipolar, but i'll be darned if i will board without something to soothe my nerves! Talk about a panic attack.
The man probably couldnt take being enclosed in an airplane, and the wife didnt help by arguing with him.

Air Marshalls have to go through some of the most stringent handgun training that there is. They are on a par with Delta and the Secret Service.
If the Marshall fired more than once it was because she need to. Remember as other people have stated these are unconfirmed reports and gunshots do echo. Another thing to consider is that the air Marshalls use a low velocity round in their weapons, to avoid damage to the aircraft or a shot passing through their target and injuring someone else. The weapons training that I recieved while in the US Navy came from the Marines and taught me to keep firing untill my target was down and if the situation is serious enough to shoot then it is serious enough to shoot to kill! You can try to physically subdue someone that you believe has a bomb. I'll watch, preferrably from a few hundred yards away.

The guy had Bi-Polar disease, his wife ran after him and told the attendants that he was mentally ill and that he had not taken his medication yet. How could the Air Marshals not have heard a screaming wife tell them what the problem was? If he is suspected to be mentally ill don't shoot to kill, these guys are just blood thirsty idiots.

This is where they will be threatened and intimidated into coming up with a story that is friendly to the government. I don't trust the government when witnesses are taken away for "debriefing".

And what would have kept HER from being in on it? She yells he's mentally ill, the air marshalls wait, he detonates the bomb. Women CAN be terrorists too. You DON'T take a chance in a situation like this.

Well, of course, they will be told what they heard.

Per WSVN 7, The victim didn't come from Columbia, he arrived into Miami on a flight from Equador.

I guess he was going to Orlando on this American Flight??? Now I'm very confused as to how he got onto this plane from Columbia...

Usually on International flights which connect in Miami before going to their final destination, are emptied, while the passengers go thru customs and have to claim their baggage, before reboarding the same plane to their final destination.

How is this man disembarking from the Columbian flight if he arrived into Miami on another flight from Equador????

The goal is not to disable. The goal is to shoot to kill, per their training.

Or into his ankle holster, or to grab a hostage, or...

Or Federal Air Marshall training.
[edit on 7-12-2005 by Riwka]

I guess coming from Columbia sounded much more interesting.

Is it really that way?

Then they should think it over. One can be trained on both options.

Disabling can be an option, especially when the plane is on the ground.

This makes no sense, I have to go with the assumption that WSVN has misquoted.

The plane did come from Colombia.. that's a fact, whether this man came from Equador and connected with the flight in Columbia or got on in Miami is ?????

There's a totally different story on CNN now. He got off the plane and went through Customs, and had reboarded when he said he had a bomb in his bag. The Air Marshalls asked him to get off the plane, which he did, but then refused to put the bag down, and approached them in a threatening manner, at which point they fired and wounded him, and he died later of his injuries.

wow now that's definitely a whole nother story

Then this Equador thing may be true if that is the case.

No offense intended, but did you bother to read the above posts? Unfortunately, it is not an option to shoot to wound, nor should it be, when you have so many lives hanging in balance, and can not predict or predetermine cause or effect.

This from CNN.com

It looks like the AA flight was stopping in Miami, on the way to Orlando. I'm not sure where Ecuador fits in.

We'll just have to wait and see when all the details shake out.

Wait.... now they are reporting that they are detonating pieces of luggage as a security precaution.... Earlier they said no actual bomb was involved.... WTF?