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When Air Marshals Attack!

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When Air Marshals Attack!

Zero Tolerance sure applies here

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051208/ts_nm/security_plane_dc
from JoeUser Forums
I was tempted to put 'Zero Tolerance' in the title rather than the subtitle so I could get more looks, but I held back.

U.S. air marshals on Wednesday shot and killed an American Airlines passenger who claimed to be carrying a bomb in his backpack at Miami International Airport. He was disembarking from a flight that had just arrived at Miami from Medellin, Colombia.

Let me get this straight: a man who had just landed in America starts breaking for the door, pushing through the crowd in the aisle. They are trying to get their carry-on bags from their overhead compartments, and he's shouting he has a bomb and making for the door. Not a good situation.

Complicating things, the flight just came from Medellin, Colombia. Pablo Escobar's homies are from there; not the most secure place in the western hemisphere, that's for sure. Medellin Cartel link No assurance that the baggage or the passengers had been properly inspected before departure. No assurance of much of anything, since the plane was coming from abroad, to be honest. There are several airports in the world where lax to no security checks take place, especially to the American standard. If we can't find everyone (see 9/11), then how can we expect every little podunk third-world backwater airport to inspect shoes?

So the guy decides that he doesn't want to play nice with the air marshals. From Reuters:
"Many details of the shooting remain confused, but officials in Washington said the man tried to flee, ignored an order to put his bag on the ground and was shot on the passenger gangway.
"The passenger then reached into his carry-on bag, at which point, consistent with air marshal training, the air marshals took the appropriate actions. Shots were fired as the team attempted to subdue the subject," said a Department of Homeland Security spokesman."

No kidding they shot him! He was clearly disobeying their instructions and reaching into his bag. For all the air marshals knew, he had a detonator in there. They acted in order to save the 300 people on the flight, as well as many other hundreds in the terminal.

All I can say is NICE JOB, AIR MARSHALS!
6,675 views 31 replies
Reply #26 from JoeUser Forums Top
Air marshalls carry special weapons designed not to penetrate the hull of the aircraft.


Well that is a very good thing because my b/f from highschool has an older brother who is an Air Marshall and he can't hit the side of a barn standing next to it! He had to take the shooting test like ten times and finally passed...but is still a lousy shot. He admits if he ever has to shoot anyone, the person he is aiming at has about a 75% chance of not getting hit (and that's if he is standing next to him!LOL)
Reply #27 from JoeUser Forums Top
Air marshals carry special weapons designed not to penetrate the hull of the aircraft.


I use to load my own .45 & 9mm ammo depending on need, along with others during my younger years of offshore travel. I was trained in a variety of small weapons, close quarter hand to hand combat and still keep my skills sharp with my .45. I heard from an ole friend in an agency those marshals carry small frame.45's with lite loads for stopping power. 9mm require double even triple taps to insure stopping a pumped threat. Even with lite loads the stopping power of one round is considerably better then a two 9's, less likely to penetrate the hull and reduces the possibility of collateral damage. I've known in some cases agents train in close quarters with hard rubber bullets. Just can't believe air marshals would go that way since lethal threats have been known to wear body armor and carry real bullets.
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Reply #28 from JoeUser Forums Top
Air marshalls carry special weapons designed not to penetrate the hull of the aircraft.

Well that is a very good thing because my b/f from highschool has an older brother who is an Air Marshall and he can't hit the side of a barn standing next to it! He had to take the shooting test like ten times and finally passed...but is still a lousy shot. He admits if he ever has to shoot anyone, the person he is aiming at has about a 75% chance of not getting hit (and that's if he is standing next to him!


Luckily he'll be on the inside of the barn. While the barn is moving at 650 miles per hour at 40,000 feet... not so lucky.
I have no problem with the air marshal program. I'm actually quite happy that this happened, since now I know those air marshals will do their job.
I just hope and pray the powers-that-be don't gut the air marshal program over this.

since lethal threats have been known to wear body armor and carry real bullets.

Exactly how do you see them getting THAT STUFF on the plane? Holy crap, if they can get past security with that arsenal, they deserve to win.
Reply #29 from JoeUser Forums Top
He was just a passenger, until he started screaming and made a bolt for the door. As for 'terror suspect', I think the MSM coverage is bearing out that he was suspected of carrying a bomb by his own admission.


When he was SHOT, he was a "terror suspect". So, a "passenger" wasn't shot, but a "terror suspect" was shot. Big difference in how that's read!
Reply #30 from JoeUser Forums Top
How about immobilizing.... especially when a woman is screaming "don't shoot, hes ill". To much stress for the Marshal?


Cops are trained when they clear leather to shoot at the center of mass. That means they have a greater margin for error and less chance for collateral damage. A shot to the center of mass will also be the most likely to immobilize the subject, as it is most likely a deadly shot.

The fact that there has been only ONE such incident since 9/11 should show you that these are NOT gun happy air marshalls. We cannot second guess our officers when they act as they are trained to act and it doesn't have a Disney ending.
Reply #31 from JoeUser Forums Top
We cannot second guess our officers when they act as they are trained to act


Exactly. We have to understand that they are working for the greater good, and how potential disasters can best be prevented. Unfortunately for him and his wife, that guy needed to be put down. There was no way of knowing in that split second whether or not he was really a threat.
The converse is scarier: if this whole situation had gone the other way, think of the outcry!
"Marshals fail to stop bomber; 35+ dead at Miami Int'l Airport. Film at 11."