Authorities have identified the individual accused of using an assault rifle in the LAX shooting that saw a Transportation Security Administration agent killed. Shots were fired inside the Los Angeles International Airport early Friday. Law-enforcement officials tell NBC News that Paul Anthony Ciancia, 23, entered the airport around 9:20 a.m., Pacific Time, and opened fire inside Terminal 3. The AP also reported that authorities named Ciancia, who was “carrying a bag containing a hand-written note that said he ‘wanted to kill TSA and pigs,'” as the suspect. “A law enforcement official, who was briefed at LAX on the investigation but not authorized to speak publicly, said the gunman was wearing fatigues,” an AP report said. The suspect was in custody and being treated for injuries sustained during an exchange of gunfire with police. His exact condition is not clear at this time. Patrick Gannon, Chief of Airport Police at LAX, said that an individual “pulled an assault rifle out of a bag and began to open fire in the terminal.” Officials said that seven people were treated for injuries as a result. Paul Anthony Ciancia: LAX Shooting Suspect The slain TSA officer was identified as Gerardo I. Hernandez, 39. On Friday, a sibling of Ciancia’s received a text message from Ciancia saying he was thinking about taking his life, according to the Associated Press. A federal law enforcement official, who didn’t want to be named, told USA Today that the alleged shooter’s family was worried about his well being. They alerted police, and those officers relayed the family’s concerns to Los Angeles authorities, who made contact with the alleged shooter’s roommates. They found that Paul Ciancia appeared to be okay.
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Paul Anthony Ciancia Named as LAX Shooting Suspect
