LAX Shooting While Guards Were on Break

[PegLeg45]

Info on the shooting at LAX last year:

Minutes before a gunman opened fire in a Los Angeles International Airport terminal last fall, killing a security screener and wounding three other people, the two armed officers assigned to the area left for breaks without informing a dispatcher as required.

The Los Angeles Airport Police Department officers were outside Terminal 3 when authorities say Paul Ciancia opened fire with an assault rifle in an attack targeting Transportation Security Administration officers, two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press. The officials requested anonymity, saying they were briefed on the shooting but were not authorized to speak publicly about the ongoing investigation.

As terrified travelers dived for cover, TSA officers — who are unarmed — fled the screening area without hitting a panic button or using a landline to call for help. It took a call from an airline contractor to a police dispatcher, who then alerted officers over the radio — a lag of nearly a minute and a half, the officials said.

Before officers could get to the scene, Ciancia fatally wounded TSA Officer Gerardo Hernandez and then headed to the screening area where he shot two more agents and a traveler, authorities said. Ciancia was subdued after being wounded by officers in the gate area of the terminal.

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The new details about the whereabouts of the two officers come as authorities review the overall response, including whether emergency medical personnel were forced to wait longer than necessary to remove Hernandez so he could be taken to a hospital. The AP earlier reported that Hernandez did not receive medical care until 33 minutes after he was shot. A coroner's release said he was likely dead within two to five minutes.

Departmental procedures require that officers notify a dispatcher before going on break and leaving their patrol area in order to ensure supervisors are aware of their absence and, if necessary, a relief unit can be brought in to cover their area.

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more at link:

http://news.yahoo.com/ap-exclusive-lax-gunfire-came-while-officers-away-051925251.html

[MikeBjerum]

From the article:

As terrified travelers dived for cover, TSA officers — who are unarmed — fled the screening area without hitting a panic button or using a landline to call for help.

I can't get a job with TSA, because I too old, fat, out of shape, you name it I've been told it.  However, I hope that if I were in that position I would at least take my position serious enough to carry out my duty:  Protect the travelers in my area!

I think we can start the firing list at this point.  I was going to say the two that went on break would be top of the list, but what about the clowns who were on duty and ran for cover while others faced danger under their "protection"?

These are the facts we need to store for those debates when we are told this is not the 18th or 19th century, and we have plenty of security to protect us in the modern age.  Where is the protection?  Who can we count on for protection?  I want a refund on my tax dollars, and we can start by demanding a return of the wages and benefits these TSA clowns received.