Suspect in LAX shooting jailed after hospital stay
Nov 19, 2013, 8:16 PM
LOS ANGELES (AP) – A 23-year-old man charged in a deadly shooting rampage at Los Angeles International Airport has been released from a hospital and placed in federal custody, but it was unclear Tuesday when he’ll make his first court appearance.
Paul Anthony Ciancia was released from Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center on Monday and is under the care of the U.S. Marshals Service, authorities said. Ciancia, who was shot four times by airport police, including once in the mouth, was the last of three patients from the Nov. 1 shooting who had been at the hospital.
Ciancia is charged with murder and other counts in the killing of Transportation Security Administration Officer Gerardo Hernandez and wounding of three other people, including two other TSA officers.
The charges carry a potential death sentence.
It wasn’t immediately known when Ciancia will make his first court appearance. The hearing is supposed to take place “without unnecessary delay,” according to federal rules.
FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said Ciancia has been moved to an unnamed prison facility. Steve Gagliardi, a spokesman for a federal prison in downtown Los Angeles, said his facility hadn’t received Ciancia.
No details were released about Ciancia’s condition. A phone message left for his attorney, John Littrell, was not immediately returned.
Investigators said Ciancia walked into one of the airport’s terminals, pulled out an assault rifle from a duffel bag and fired repeatedly at the 39-year-old Hernandez.
He then fired on two other uniformed TSA employees and an airline passenger, who all were wounded, as he moved through the security checkpoint to the passenger gate area, according to authorities. He was shot as panicked travelers either hid or fled.
Authorities have said Ciancia targeted TSA employees but his motive has remained unclear.
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