Airport Shooting Suspect Paul Ciancia Held Without Bond, Will Likely Enter Plea Bargain

Airport shooting suspect Paul Ciancia appeared in court for the first time this week, with a judge ordering the gunman accused of a deadly shooting at Los Angeles International Airport to remain in custody.

The 23-year-old Ciancia made his first appearance in court five weeks after the shooting, which left one Transportation Security Administration employee dead. Ciancia was wounded by police in a shootout that brought the November 1 rampage to a conclusion, and had to spend several days in the hospital in critical condition.

The airport shooting suspect is accused of killing 39-year-old Gerardo Hernandez, the first TSA agent killed in the line of duty since the office was created after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Prosecutors said the airport shooting suspect went on a targeted rampage, carrying a note that said he intended to kill several officers.

Leon Saryan, who was in a security line when the airport shooting suspect opened fire, said Ciancia was selecting his targets carefully.

“They told everybody to run toward the gate, and I couldn’t run because I had my shoes and my belt off. So I was trying to gather up my stuff and get going and a TSA worker walked up right behind me and started yelling, ‘get out of here get down’ there so he grabbed my shoes and I just started running,” Saryan told TMJ-4 in Milwaukee. “And I got halfway down the hall, and I was in the hallway cowering when the guy came through. And he had a rifle in his hand and he looked at me and he said ‘TSA?’ and I shook my head and he just kept going.”

This week, Judge David Bristow ruled that the airport shooting suspect posed a flight risk and a danger to the community and ordered him to be held without bond. A new court date was set for December 18, and Ciancia is expected to enter a plea bargain at an arraignment hearing on December 26.