2002 Los Angeles International Airport shooting

{{Short description|Terrorist attack at the airline ticket counter of Israel's El Al}}

{{Infobox terrorist attack

| title = 2002 Los Angeles International Airport shooting

| image =

| caption =

| location = Los Angeles International Airport, California, United States

| map = {{Location map | California#United States

| width = 220

| float = center

| alt = Los Angeles International Airport

| label = Los Angeles International Airport

| mark = Airplane silhouette.svg

| lat_deg = 33

| lat_min = 56

| lat_sec = 33

| lat_dir = N

| lon_deg = 118

| lon_min = 24

| lon_sec = 29

| lon_dir = W

}}

| target = Passengers and employees of Israeli airline El Al|

| date = {{start date and age|2002|7|4}}

| time = 11:30{{spaces}}a.m.

| timezone = PDT

| weapons = {{Unbulleted list|Glock 21 .45-caliber handgun|Glock 9mm handgun|Knife}}

| type = Mass shooting, terrorism

| motive = Anger towards American support for Israel, Jihadism

| fatalities = 3 (including the perpetrator)

| injuries = 5 (4 from gunfire)

| perp = Hesham Mohamed Hadayet

}}

On July 4, 2002, a lone gunman opened fire at the ticket counter of El Al, Israel's national airline, at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California, United States. In the terrorist attack, two people were killed, and four others were injured before an El Al security guard fatally shot the gunman.

Attack

File:LAX-International-checkin.JPG

On July 4, 2002, at around 11:30 a.m., a lone gunman approached the El Al ticket counter inside the Tom Bradley International Terminal at the Los Angeles International Airport, pulled out two Glock pistols and started shooting at the 90 passengers standing in the line. Initially, the assailant killed 25-year-old Customer Service Agent Victoria Hen, standing behind the counter, with a gunshot to the chest. Later, the assailant opened fire at the passengers as they huddled nearby and killed 46-year-old bystander Yaakov Aminov. In addition, he injured four other bystanders.

The terrorist used a .45-caliber handgun in the shooting. In addition, he had a 9 mm handgun, a 6-inch knife and extra magazines with ammunition for both guns.

After the gunman fired ten bullets at the crowd, one of El Al's security guards, who was unarmed, managed to knock him down. Meanwhile, El Al's security officer, Chaim Sapir, ran to the scene but was stabbed by the assailant with a knife. Despite this, Sapir managed to draw his pistol and shoot the gunman in the chest, killing him.{{cite news |script-title=he:התקפת יריות על דלפק אל-על בלוס אנג'לס |language=he |trans-title=An attack on the Los Angeles ticket counter |url=http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/1,7340,L-1982997,00.html |work=Yedioth Internet |date=July 6, 2002 |agency=Ynet and agencies |access-date=September 29, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014170213/http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/1,7340,L-1982997,00.html |archive-date=October 14, 2012 |url-status=live }}{{cite news|title=LAX Assailant Died of Abdominal Gunshot Wound|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-jul-07-me-lax7-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|first=Andrew|last=Blankstein|date=July 7, 2002|access-date=October 7, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151124114635/http://articles.latimes.com/2002/jul/07/local/me-lax7|archive-date=November 24, 2015|url-status=live}}

Perpetrator

Hesham Mohamed Hadayet (July 4, 1961{{spaces}}–{{spaces}}July 4, 2002), a 41-year-old Egyptian national, was identified as the assailant. He emigrated to the United States in 1992, arriving on a tourist visa but applied for political asylum. The Immigration and Naturalization Service denied his asylum request in 1995, but the Post Office returned a letter notifying him as undeliverable. No further efforts appear to have been made to locate and deport him. Shortly before his scheduled 1997 deportation, his wife won the Diversity Immigrant Visa lottery, enabling both to become legal residents.{{cite news|last1=Ramirez|first1=Eddy|title=Panel Probes LAX Gunman Terrorism: House lawmakers say closer scrutiny by INS might have prevented killings by Egyptian immigrant.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-oct-10-me-lax10-story.html|access-date=July 20, 2015|agency=Los Angeles Times|date=October 2, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307200814/http://articles.latimes.com/2002/oct/10/local/me-lax10|archive-date=March 7, 2016|url-status=live}}

In Egypt, he had been arrested for being a member of Al-Jama'a al-Islamiyya, an Islamist group. He denied the accusation to U.S. immigration authorities. He said he was a member of Asad ibn al-Furat Mosque Association, a group that aimed to "understand truly and apply Islamic law in the 20th century under any circumstances."{{cite news|last1=Arena|first1=Kelly|title=INS: Airport gunman spoke of terrorism allegation in '92 interview|url=http://www.cnn.com/2002/LAW/09/25/lax.shooting.asylum/|access-date=July 20, 2015|publisher=CNN|date=September 25, 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923205219/http://www.cnn.com/2002/LAW/09/25/lax.shooting.asylum/|archive-date=September 23, 2015|url-status=live}}

Hadayet had a green card (through the Diversity Visa Lottery), which allowed him to work as a limousine driver and to apply for United States citizenship after five years. He was married and had at least one child. At the time of the shooting, Hadayet was living in Irvine, California. He committed the shooting on his 41st birthday.{{cite news |first=Charles |last=Feldman |title=Los Angeles airport shooting kills 3 |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/07/04/la.airport.shooting/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041204221915/http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/07/04/la.airport.shooting/ |archive-date=December 4, 2004 |url-status=dead|location = Los Angeles, California |work=CNN |date=July 5, 2002}}{{cite news|title=Diversity visa program: What you need to know|url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/diversity-visa-program-what-you-need-to-know/|access-date=November 1, 2017|publisher=Fox News|date=November 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171101171711/http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/11/01/diversity-visa-program-what-need-to-know.html|archive-date=November 1, 2017|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Sacchetti|first1=Maria|title=Here's what you need to know about the Diversity Visa Lottery Program|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/immigration/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-diversity-visa-lottery-program/2017/11/01/69f3f422-bf15-11e7-97d9-bdab5a0ab381_story.html|access-date=November 1, 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=November 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171101201515/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/immigration/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-diversity-visa-lottery-program/2017/11/01/69f3f422-bf15-11e7-97d9-bdab5a0ab381_story.html|archive-date=November 1, 2017|url-status=live}}

Aftermath

In September 2002, federal investigators concluded that Hadayet hoped to influence U.S. government policy in favor of the Palestinians and that the incident was a terrorist act.{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/West/04/12/airport.shooting/ |title=FBI, Justice: El Al attack was terrorism |work=CNN |date=April 12, 2003 |access-date=December 2, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070203145025/http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/West/04/12/airport.shooting/ |archive-date=February 3, 2007}}