Death Toll in Los Angeles Shooting Revised to 3: Police

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, July 05, 2002

Death Toll in Los Angeles Shooting Revised to 3: Police

The death toll of the shooting on Thursday at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) was revisedto three, including the gunman who was shot dead by a security guard, authorities said.

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Shooting Occurs in LA Airport

The death toll of the shooting on Thursday at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) was revisedto three, including the gunman who was shot dead by a security guard, authorities said.

The Los Angeles Police Department said they were questioning two people in custody after the shooting incident which occurred at about 11:30 a.m. local time inside the Tom Bradley international airport.

The shooting took place near the ticket counter of Israel's national airline of El Al. The unidentified gunman attacked one individual near the counter with a knife and a gun, killing the victim and another person nearby before he was shot dead by an Israeli security guard.

Witnesses said they heard about eight to 10 shots. At first, "a lot of people thought it was fireworks and a prank," said Thad Weimlein, a witness who was checking into his flight on Korean Air."It was probably eight to 10 shots. People were hitting the floor."

The Tom Bradley terminal was shut as thousands of passengers were streaming out of the terminal and traffic was stopped outside.Police cars, ambulances, and fire engines lined the road, TV pictures showed.

The police said the information they had was preliminary with few details. The cause of the shooting and the identity of the gunman and the victim remained unknown.

"At this time, there's no reason to believe the incident is terrorist-related," said Horace Frank, an spokesman of the Los Angeles Police Department. Information is still sketchy and the investigation is still in its earliest stages, he said.

FBI to Lead Investigation

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will lead the investigation into the shooting on Thursday morning at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)that killed three people, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD)said.

A LAPD spokesman told a news conference at the LAX that the FBI will have sole responsibility on investigating the shooting incident with the cooperation from the LAPD and airport police.

Despite the widespread suspicion that this is a terrorist attack on the Fourth of July Independence Day, authorities warned against prejudging. Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn said that so farthis was believed to be an isolated incident and they were unawareof any indication of its connection to any terrorist acts.

"At this time, there's no reason to believe the incident is terrorist-related," said Horace Frank, an spokesman of the Los Angeles Police Department. Information is still sketchy and the investigation is still in its earliest stages, he said.

The cause of the shooting and the identity of the gunman and the victims remained unknown. The LAPD said they were questioning two people in custody after the shooting incident which occurred at about 11:30 a.m. local time inside the Tom Bradley international airport.

The shooting took place near the ticket counter of Israel's national airline of El Al. The unidentified gunman attacked one individual near the counter with a knife and a gun, killing the victim and another people nearby before he was shot dead by an Israeli security guard.

Witnesses said they heard about eight to 10 shots. At first, "a lot of people thought it was fireworks and a prank," said Thad Weimlein, a witness who was checking into his flight on Korean Air."It was probably eight to 10 shots. People were hitting the floor."

The Tom Bradley terminal was shut as thousands of passengers were evacuated and traffic was stopped outside. Police cars, ambulances, and fire engines were rushed to the airport for the rescue.

An unknown number of flights were delayed by the shooting incident, but Mayor Hahn said the authorities were doing anything possible to ensure that the airport will return to normality.

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