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The terrorist incident the media ignores
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/6303707.htm
Posted on Mon, Jul. 14, 2003
LAX shooting victims sue city, gunman's estate
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - The families of two people killed by a gunman at Los Angeles International Airport on July 4, 2002, filed lawsuits Monday seeking a total of more than $85 million from the city and the gunman's estate, the families' attorney said.
The suits were brought for wrongful death and terrorism against the estate of Hesham Mohamed Hadayet, 41, who shot two people at the ticket counter of El Al, Israel's national airline, and wounded several others before being fatally shot by a security guard.
The U.S. Justice Department determined earlier this year that Hadayet, an Egyptian immigrant, had acted alone but called the shooting an act of terrorism related to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
The lawsuits, filed in U.S. District Court, also claim the city failed to provide adequate security against the attack.
Eric Moses, a spokesman for the Los Angeles city attorney's office, said he could not comment on the actions.
"The events that took place on July 4 at the airport were tragic and unfortunate," Moses said. "However, we've not seen the lawsuit and therefore cannot comment on the merits of the allegations."
The lawsuit invokes federal anti-terrorism laws that allow the families of terrorism victims to seek damages from the estate of the attacker, said attorney Richard Fine, who represents the families of El Al employee Victoria Hen, passenger Yaakov Aminov and others who were wounded in the attack.
Fine also said the city should be held responsible for failing to prevent the attack.
"We aren't asking them to be everywhere," Fine said. "All we're asking is that they have a police officer in the terminal."
According to a Los Angeles Police Department report on the shooting, communications problems hampered the police response, which drew officials from 10 different agencies, including the U.S. Customs Department and the FBI.
Hadayet came to the airport armed with two handguns and a hunting knife. He entered the international terminal and opened fire at the ticket counter for Israel-based El Al.
He killed Hen and Aminov before attacking an El Al security guard with the knife. Another guard shot Hadayet to death.
Thousands were evacuated from the airport's international terminal after the shooting, which occurred as the country was on high alert less than a year after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
At the time of the shooting, Hadayet's wife, Hala Mohammed Sadeq El-Awadly, was in Cairo with the couple's two sons.
Fine said the lawsuit is intended to send a message to would-be terrorists.
"Basically, it's to tell the terrorists that we the people are going to use the law to go after terrorists and their estates, no matter where they are," he said.
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/6303707.htm
Posted on Mon, Jul. 14, 2003
LAX shooting victims sue city, gunman's estate
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - The families of two people killed by a gunman at Los Angeles International Airport on July 4, 2002, filed lawsuits Monday seeking a total of more than $85 million from the city and the gunman's estate, the families' attorney said.
The suits were brought for wrongful death and terrorism against the estate of Hesham Mohamed Hadayet, 41, who shot two people at the ticket counter of El Al, Israel's national airline, and wounded several others before being fatally shot by a security guard.
The U.S. Justice Department determined earlier this year that Hadayet, an Egyptian immigrant, had acted alone but called the shooting an act of terrorism related to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
The lawsuits, filed in U.S. District Court, also claim the city failed to provide adequate security against the attack.
Eric Moses, a spokesman for the Los Angeles city attorney's office, said he could not comment on the actions.
"The events that took place on July 4 at the airport were tragic and unfortunate," Moses said. "However, we've not seen the lawsuit and therefore cannot comment on the merits of the allegations."
The lawsuit invokes federal anti-terrorism laws that allow the families of terrorism victims to seek damages from the estate of the attacker, said attorney Richard Fine, who represents the families of El Al employee Victoria Hen, passenger Yaakov Aminov and others who were wounded in the attack.
Fine also said the city should be held responsible for failing to prevent the attack.
"We aren't asking them to be everywhere," Fine said. "All we're asking is that they have a police officer in the terminal."
According to a Los Angeles Police Department report on the shooting, communications problems hampered the police response, which drew officials from 10 different agencies, including the U.S. Customs Department and the FBI.
Hadayet came to the airport armed with two handguns and a hunting knife. He entered the international terminal and opened fire at the ticket counter for Israel-based El Al.
He killed Hen and Aminov before attacking an El Al security guard with the knife. Another guard shot Hadayet to death.
Thousands were evacuated from the airport's international terminal after the shooting, which occurred as the country was on high alert less than a year after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
At the time of the shooting, Hadayet's wife, Hala Mohammed Sadeq El-Awadly, was in Cairo with the couple's two sons.
Fine said the lawsuit is intended to send a message to would-be terrorists.
"Basically, it's to tell the terrorists that we the people are going to use the law to go after terrorists and their estates, no matter where they are," he said.
