PENNSVILLE, N.J. (AP) — Relatives of the suspect charged in last week's Los Angeles airport shooting offered sympathy Monday to the family of the TSA officer who was killed, saying they were "shocked and numbed" by the deadly rampage.
An attorney for the family of Paul Ciancia said his relatives also expressed hope for the recovery of the other victims and regret for the travel disruption caused by the attack on the nation's third-busiest airport.
Family lawyer John Jordan read a brief statement outside the town hall in Pennsville, a working-class town near Wilmington, Del., where Ciancia grew up.
"Paul is our son and brother. We will continue to love him and care for him and support him during the difficult times ahead," Jordan said on the family's behalf.
The relatives, who had not spoken publicly before, said they were cooperating with the FBI and other law-enforcement agencies.
Jordan, who is also the town's municipal judge, did not take questions.
Ciancia, a 23-year-old unemployed motorcycle mechanic, is accused of shooting his way past an airport checkpoint with a .223-caliber rifle he pulled from a duffel bag. He was wounded in a shootout with airport police.
Prosecutors have charged him with murder of a federal officer in the death of TSA screener Gerardo I. Hernandez and committing violence at an international airport.
In the Ciancia family's neighborhood in New Jersey, stop signs at either end of the street were adorned with stickers advertising Infowars.com, a website that discusses many of the same anti-government ideas officials said Ciancia mentioned in a hand-written note found in his bag. There was no way to tell who put the stickers on the signs.
Orange construction cones blocked the family's long driveway, and two police officers were at the auto-body shop owned by Ciancia's father, also named Paul.
On Monday, the FBI revisited the suspect's Sun Valley apartment — the same duplex that agents searched Friday.
On the morning of the shooting, Ciancia entered his roommate's room unannounced and asked to be driven to the airport, authorities said in an affidavit supporting a search warrant.
The roommate agreed, taking the suspect to Terminal 3. The attack began minutes later. He told authorities he did not learn of the shooting until after returning to the apartment.
On Monday, a man was escorted out of the apartment and drove away in a black Hyundai — the same type of car that authorities said was seen in surveillance video dropping Ciancia off at the airport. The FBI would not identify the man or discuss the investigation.
Neighbors say they remembered little or nothing about Ciancia. Some did not even recognize his photograph.
Ciancia, who was shot four times before being subdued, remained in critical condition. He has not been scheduled to appear in court. Any appearance will depend on when his doctors say he's ready, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.
The TSA said the other two officers wounded in the attack — James Speer, 54, and Tony Grigsby, 36 — were released from the hospital.
Brian Ludmer, a high school teacher, also remained hospitalized. He has to undergo at least one more surgery on his leg and extensive physical therapy, hospital officials said Monday, but his condition was upgraded from fair to good.
The bullet pierced the back of Ludmer's right calf, shattering two bones and creating a 4-inch hole as it left his shin. The bullet also grazed his left leg as he was running.
He was scheduled to undergo a second surgery Monday to implant a titanium rod into his leg because of the extreme damage.
Dan Stepenosky, superintendent of Las Virgenes Unified School District, visited with Ludmer on Sunday at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. With the metal rod, Ludmer joked that he would now have an even harder time getting through security at the airport, the superintendent said.
Two other people suffered injuries trying to evade the gunman, but weren't shot.
__
Associated Press writers Tami Abdollah and Greg Risling in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
___
Follow Mulvihill at http://www.twitter.com/geoffmulvihill
- Society & Culture
- Crime & Justice
Category: iPad Air Merritt Wever chrissy teigen yom kippur Theresa Vail
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.