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LAX shooting suspect due in court for first time Wednesday

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The man accused in a deadly shooting rampage at Los Angeles International Airport last month is scheduled to make his first court appearance Wednesday, federal prosecutors said.

Paul Anthony Ciancia, 23, will not be asked to enter a plea at the 11 a.m. arraignment at the Rancho Cucamonga jail facility where he is being held, the U.S. attorney’s office said Monday. Rather, a judge will ensure Ciancia “has been apprised of his rights, has seen the criminal complaint filed against him, and has an attorney,” officials said in a statement.

Ciancia, a New Jersey native living in Los Angeles, has been charged with the murder of a federal officer and commission of violence at an airport. If convicted on all charges, he could face the death penalty or life in prison without parole.

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According to online jail records with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, Ciancia is being held without bail at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.

Authorities allege it was Ciancia who opened fire inside the airport the morning of Nov. 1, killing Transportation Security Administration Officer Gerardo I. Hernandez and wounding three other people. Hernandez, a 39-year-old father of two, became the first TSA worker killed in the line of duty.

Ciancia allegedly targeted TSA workers in the attack and had written in a signed note that he wanted to kill TSA agents and “instill fear in their traitorous minds,” authorities said. Witnesses to the shooting said the gunman asked whether they worked for the TSA before moving on.

Ciancia was shot in the head and leg during a gun battle with airport police. He spent more than two weeks at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center before he was released into the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

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Twitter: @katemather | Google+

kate.mather@latimes.com

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