TSA agent shot at Los Angeles airport died in two to five minutes
The Transportation Security Administration agent who was killed at Los Angeles International Airport died within two to five minutes of being shot, coroner’s officials said.
Gerardo I. Hernandez, a 39-year-old father of two, was shot multiple times, according to a one-page statement released Wednesday by the Los Angeles County coroner’s office. A final autopsy report is expected to be released Friday.
Hernandez became the first TSA officer killed in the line of duty when a gunman opened fire at the airport the morning of Nov. 1. Three others were wounded before the suspect — identified as Paul Anthony Ciancia, 23 — was shot in a gun battle with airport police and taken into custody.
Ciancia was released Monday from Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center into the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
A report from the Associated Press last week quoted Marshall McClain, president of the airport police officers union, alleging that a veteran Los Angeles Police Department officer delayed medical attention for Hernandez despite reaching the agent minutes after he had been shot.
The AP report cited officials who saw surveillance video. The officer “checked on” Hernandez several times and told others he was already dead. The report said more than 30 minutes passed before airport police brought Hernandez to paramedics.
Hernandez was in full cardiac arrest by the time he was brought out of the terminal, an emergency medical source with knowledge of the incident told The Times. Paramedics took him to a hospital, where doctors tried unsuccessfully to revive him.
“My point is we are trained to render aid,” McClain told The Times. “It is not your job to decide someone is dead.”
Los Angeles police officials said they would investigate the officer’s alleged conduct. But LAPD Chief Charlie Beck called the report’s claims “highly speculative,” saying it was too early to draw conclusions about how officers responded.
On Saturday, a statement issued by Los Angeles World Airports, the FBI, the Los Angeles Fire Department, the LAPD and the TSA called some of the statements made about the shooting and the response “untrue,” while others “merit serious consideration by our respective agencies.”
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