[(JD)]

was shot and killed at Miami International Airport this afternoon (12/7/05) How sad.

Of course better details will be forthcoming.. but the local info says the 44 year old man from Maitland, FL (near Orlando) had just had an argument with his wife on the airplane, and became unruly. The air marshalls told him to put his back pack bag down at which time he reached into it.... also that he was told to get down on the ground at which time he ran into the jetway? ........ and was subsequently shot.

His wife is supposedly the one who gave the information that her husband suffered from bipolar disorder.

No bomb nor any ordnance was found.

This is most interesting because of the questioning of how to be sensitive to those with mental health issues... and yet keep others safe.

I await the full report, as certainly the wife would have been yelling out trying to let others know he suffered from a mental illness and ??? and what? Wouldn't saying just that mean nothing? He could be mentally unwell and have a bomb... what would you say in the heat of the moment?

Whew.

[Lexicon78]

This is terrible...but it happens to the best of us I guess. On one hand he was mentally ill, but on the other the police had no idea how dangerous he might have been...what a situation.

Our news over here in Tampa reported that when the plane from Columbia landed in Miami, the man got up flailing his arms and yelled that he had a bomb and began to run.

The marshalls pursued him and told him to drop, which he did. When they approached him, he reached into his carry on backpack or bag and they shot him.

They (The Media) reported that the wife was screaming "My husband, my husband" and told authorities "after" he was shot that he was dx'ed with bi-polar and had not taken his medication.

That's what our NBC affiliates reported on the West Coast, I am not saying it's true.

I will watch the six o'clock news on another channel to see if that story differs.

[SeptemberMorn]

Here's what I read:

Air Marshal Shoots, Kills Passenger
Confrontation Occurred on Jetway at Miami Airport
By JOHN PAIN, AP

MIAMI (Dec. 7) - A passenger who claimed to have a bomb in a carry-on bag was shot and killed by a federal air marshal Wednesday on a jetway to an American Airlines plane that had arrived from Colombia, officials said. No bomb was found in the bag, a U.S. official said.

Homeland Security Department spokesman Brian Doyle said the dead man was a 44-year-old U.S. citizen. It was the first time since the Sept. 11 attacks that an air marshal had shot at anyone, he said.

According to a witness, the man frantically ran down the aisle of the Boeing 757 while his wife tried to explain that he was mentally ill and had not taken his medication.

The passenger indicated there was a bomb in his bag and was confronted by air marshals but ran off the aircraft, Doyle said. The marshals went after him and ordered him to get down on the ground, but he did not comply and was shot when he apparently reached into the bag, Doyle said.

The shooting occurred shortly after 2 p.m. as the plane was about to take off for Orlando after about two hours on the ground in Miami. "I don't know yet if the passenger had been on the plane and was getting off, or was starting to board the aircraft," airline spokesman Tim Wagner said.

After the shooting, investigators spread passengers' bags on the tarmac and let dogs sniff them for explosives.

A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the information's sensitivity, said authorities examined the bag and found no explosives.

The concourse where the shooting took place was shut down for a half-hour, but the rest of the airport continued operating, officials said.

Mary Gardner, a passenger aboard the Orlando-bound flight, told WTVJ-TV in Miami that the man ran down the aisle from the rear of the plane. "He was frantic, his arms flailing in the air," she said. She said a woman followed, shouting, "My husband! My husband!"

Gardner said she heard the woman say her husband was bipolar - a mental illness also known as manic-depression - and had not had his medication.

The plane, Flight 924, had arrived from Medellin, Colombia, just after noon. About 105 passengers were scheduled to fly to Orlando, Wagner said.

Martin Gonzalez, spokesman for Colombia's civil aviation agency, said the flight "left normally with no problems."

There were only 32 air marshals at the time of the Sept. 11 attacks. The Bush administration hired thousands more afterward, but the exact number is classified.

Associated Press writers Mark Sherman and Lara Jakes Jordan in Washington contributed to this report.

12-07-05 17:00 EST

[(JD)]

Rigoberto Alpizar. He was a US Citizen. He allegedly did say he had a bomb inside his luggage. ( Perhaps because of his fit of anger at his wife, his not taking his medication or not being stablized on it?)

Travelling is stressful. It takes a toll on everyone... perhaps this also led to his outburst? Perhaps he was unable to get his medicine, or ran out while out of the country?

I only posted so that each of us can think about ourselves, and our loved ones ... if we were to be in a situation.... prior proper planning.. etc. It could happen to anyone? yeah.

[SeptemberMorn]

Actually, I was shocked when I read that he was Bi-polar. I was unaware the BP's hallucinate... or whatever it was that the man was doing. No offense to anyone here.

[(JD)]

I wouldn't know why the assumption of hallucinating was brought up... certainly an argument with his wife could have caused him to be angry at everyone, and saying such things as having a bomb would fit the disorder, imo.

[SeptemberMorn]

Oh, geez! I didn't say for sure he was hallucinating! It was just a passing thought. But come to think of it, the first encounter I had with someone who was Bi-polar, she said she saw God with rats running in and our of His big sleeves. I have NO IDEA whether it was her bi-polar condition or what that caused her to say that. SHEEESH!

[(JD)]

ah they were BOARDING the aircraft in Miami on way to Orlando.

Imagine you were sitting on that plane and some guy is aggressively rumaging down the aisle with a bag in his hand and he says he's got a bomb.
Would it have comforted anyone of you at all to hear his wife say that he's mentally ill and hasn't been taken his meds?
Noooo, I would not have felt at all better about the situation. It would have made me feel worst about it.
You know how people who go off of their meds love to go around killing people. (sarcasm)
He scared the holy hell out of those poor people. I feel sorry for the people on that plane.
Bi-polar or not, he threatened the lives of over 100 innocent people.

I'm sorry he died but I'm not sorry the police did what they felt they had to do to protect all of those innocent lives.

[darkeyes]

Excuse me, Sept. ALL Bipolar people DO NOT hallucinate, this is another stereotype ignorance has spread into the public light. This disorder is NOT a "one size fits all", all symptoms vary, some intense and some very mild.
Hell, many, including myself, haven't been hallucinary (sp?) , many times wrong meds given for bipolar can cause hallucinations.
I'm so tired of the media concentrating on disorder(s), stereotypes, then emerge, as well as the damn stigmas, that anyone that suffers from any mental disorders, really do not need complicating things.
Sorry, for the vent. Just that I have seen the media just jump on stuff like this, and exaggerate things.
On the other hand I am glad security was "on" security.
I just want the viewers to not assume ALL bipolars are like this person, and not ALL bipolars walk around hallucinating, claiming to see God. !!

Just my 2 cents

[SleepsWithButterFlies]

I am sorry for the man and his family but they could not stop and risk the lives of many to have his blood levels checked for his meds..and you can have mental issues and have a bomb....I think the Marshall did a good job and sad one too

[darkeyes]

Sleeps, I am glad the marshalls did what they had to do.
I'm just concerned about the ignorance of the public, and how they are going to view mental disorders.
Security wise, they had to do what they did to protect the passengers, one could not waste time.
I too, would have been frightened to death too, and happy someone took the man or if be, woman, away or down.
Again, it's just the mental disorder thing that has me annoyed. Ah, everyone, disregard me if you do not get the point I'm trying to make, after all I'm "Bi-polar" (sarcasm) and I just may be "hallucinating".

[dottie]

I see your point. We are villified enough as it is, without more ignorance fostered.

[SleepsWithButterFlies]

We agree DE...No steriotypes by me...if it had been PTSD my DX I would say the same thing

I totally get it, Darkeyes. It's not just people with bi-polar-it's with anyone who's suffering any kind of mental illness.
It's getting too jarred up and mixed into criminal activities and it's very disturbing to me. It'll get to the point where everyone suffering from any kind of mental illness is going to be labeled as a high risk criminal...killer.
I'm tired of it. I blame those darn lawyers! Now, you got me wanting to vent...

((((( darkeyes )))))

[(JD)]

I'm still thinking about this... beyond the actual incident but the implications and all...

before boarding an airplane you wait in an area designated. IF they had also just arrived from Quito, Ecuador (as suggested) then you might not even be allowed into the entire airport, not at MIA, because Miami is not your final flight destination...... even so... air marshalls are supposed to be viewing passengers prior to boarding, too... right?

If it was a situation because he was off his meds, then the situation didn't just occur during the walking the jetway to the plane! This situation was one of someone -a couple- "falling through the cracks." I'm sorry someone died... but it might save many in the future, as it exposes still the need for better marshalling.

BTW I can't find anything in the symptoms of bipolar disorder about 'hallucinations'.... so let's drop that, ok? He was angry... the wife said they had had an argument...

There just doesn't seem to be any way to improve response in this... you know? Other than they "should have been" aware of an impending situation with him prior to boarding, imo. There were 2 marshalls boarding with them... grrrrrrrrrrrrr

[hereiam]

I'll be honest - If anyone, mental illness or not, ran up and down a plane claiming they had a bomb? Shoot away, marshalls, shoot away. You never know who does and does not have a bomb and I'd much rather be safe than sorry. Just my 2 cents. My thoughts go out to his wife.

[dottie]

Ya know....something is missing here. Something just is not right. There will, no doubt, be a full inquiry regarding this. I don't think they should have shot this man. Just a gut feeling. Thanks Sky...for your post. Hmmmmm!

I think the situation should have involved taking the man down physically, holding him in detention and then taken carefully to a hospital.

Keep an eye on this case folks. It's not over yet. Wonder what his wife has to say?

[(JD)]

Yes Dottie... tazer him? (But, you would have to know the bad publicity we've had here in the last 2 years of law enforcement using the tazar guns, to maybe realize a reluctance?) It should have been handled prior to boarding! grrr

Saying you have a bomb and reaching for ??? the switch? yeah... split second decisions once they allowed it to get to that point. Afterwards, they did well... searching all luggage and making the passengers sequestered (I mean, what a great ploy for real disaster... have one person feign having a gun, all attention is on him while the others in the party who DO have ulterior motives are free to act...) It's not an exact science, security. I know personally. sigh.

He was only 44. We all can probably feel for his wife, what she put up with ( I mean, she KNEW he was not taking his meds!) The heartache... of life...and now death.

[hereiam]

He reached IN HIS BAG when repeatedly told to stop. I think that's evidence enough. What if he had something? A bomb, a gun, a knife? I think they did the right thing.

The guilt the wife must feel. OMG! Has a fight with her husband, the husband wigs out and he ends up getting killed.
Would not want to live with that for the rest of my life.

I'm sure the police who shot him feel horrible about this whole thing, too.

[ozzie]

I wish they could have aimed at a non critical part of his body to take him down....better yet, used physical force rather than a gun. Someone died and they didn't have to. If the plane had been in the air and a shot was fired it could have been disasterous for everyone, couldn't it?

[SeptemberMorn]

Thanks for the clarification, DE. I didn't think Bi-polars hallucinate and like I said, I have NO CLUE what caused this woman to say what she did, much less what caused this guy to go off like he did. Exactly because I have never claimed to know much about any other mental illness other than anxiety and depression is why I said "or whatever it was he was doing." IF he was acting out of anger or WHATEVER, I can't imagine doing something like that just because!

Like I said, I meant NO OFFENSE to anyone with my ignorance! And I certainly didn't expect for any one to accuse me of assuming or stereotyping. I would have hoped that some of the older members here would know me better than that!! Some of my own family members judge me as "crazy" because I live with anxiety and depression.

You know, if anyone had asked my opinion, I would have been really quick to say that the police prefer to shoot first and ask questions later! I find this to be true in almost every story that involves the police! So to aliviate your suspicions, I DID NOT JUDGE OR STEREOTYPE the man that got killed OR anyone else with bi-polar disorder!