LAX shooter was 'calm, pacing, scanning the crowd' during rampage

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A police presence ( Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times / November 1, 2013 ) Police officers make their way through Terminal 3 at LAX, where a gunman opened fire, killing a TSA agent and wounding several others.

Pico Rivera residents Luz and Jose Mendez arrived at Los Angeles International Airport around 8 a.m. Friday to catch a flight to Cancun for vacation. Before they boarded, the couple decided to stop at the Terminal 3 Starbucks for coffee.

In line, they suddenly saw a group of people running toward them and then heard a series of gunshots.

“Down! Down! Down! There’s a shooter!” someone yelled.

MORE: Eyewitness accounts of LAX shooting

In the terminal food court, Demetrius Trammel was inside the Gladstone’s 4 Fish restaurant kitchen when he saw a mob of people running frantically. Some were coming in the restaurant and others running out, he said.

Then Trammel heard a gunshot and everybody dropped to the floor at the same time.

The Mendezes, meanwhile, ran toward the nearby Burger King for shelter. But the couple got separated -- Jose was herded into the kitchen and Luz into a storage room. There wasn't enough room for everyone, Jose said, and some people had to hide under tables and chairs in the Burger King dining room. Jose said he was one of about 40 people “packed” into the kitchen “like sardines.”  

That's about when Trammel said he saw a man emerge from the crowd with what appeared to be an AR-15 rifle in a shoulder holster.

The gunman calmly walked through the lobby with the gun pointed at an angle toward the ground, Trammel recalled.

"He was looking around," Trammel said. "He was calm, pacing, scanning the crowd, like he was looking for somebody specifically."

Trammel said he made brief eye contact with the gunman, then he saw three men in helmets and face masks crouching along the wall, making their way toward the gunman.

Via: LA Times

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Gunman Opens Fire at Los Angeles International

KTLA

At least two people were shot when a gunman opened fire inside a busy terminal at Los Angeles International Airport.

At least two people, including a TSA worker, were shot when a gunman opened fire inside a busy terminal at Los Angeles International Airport, according to a report.

The shooter apparently confronted the security worker before firing a round in the man's leg and squeezing off several shots inside Terminal 3 about 9:30 a.m., NBC Los Angeles reported.

At least one other person was shot before authorities managed to nab the suspect, who was reportedly armed with a rifle.

It was not immediately clear how bad the two people were hurt or if any other victims were shot in the gunfire. One person was being treated for a sprained ankle.

CBS

Police ran a man out of LAX after a shooting Friday.

A law enforcement source told the Daily News that the suspect was taken into custody alive.

All departing flights remained grounded an hour later as cops began evacuating neighboring terminals.

Buses were spotted driving passengers away from the area after they disembarked from planes stopped near the runway.

Via: LA Daily News

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UPDATE: Six Dead, at Least Four Injured in Shootings at Washington Navy Yard

At least one gunman opened fire inside a building at the Washington Navy Yard on Monday morning, and officials said six people were killed and at least four were wounded, including at least one law enforcement officer.

Police were looking for two other potential gunmen wearing military-style uniforms, including one who had on a beret, chief Cathy Lanier said. One had a long gun and the other was also armed, she said. One of the three gunmen had died, though Lanier didn't say how.

Ed Zeigler, director of public affairs for Naval District Washington, said two suspected shooters are "down." The shootings occurred about 8:20 a.m.

President Barack Obama, in remarks Monday afternoon, called the shooting victims "patriots." Targeting military personnel and civilians, he said, was a "cowardly" act. He described the shootings as an act of "unimaginable violence."

Witnesses described a gunman opening fire from the fourth floor, aiming down on people in the first-floor cafeteria. Others said a gunman fired at them in a third-floor hallway.

As witnesses emerged from the building, a helicopter hovered over the building, schools were on lockdown and airplanes at nearby Reagan National Airport were briefly grounded. 

CNN reported an increase in security at the Pentagon and other military installations in the Washington area. 

Less than 2 miles away, security was beefed up at the Capitol, but officials said there was no known threat there. President Barack Obama was getting frequent briefings on the shooting.

Via: Newsmax

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