Air Marshal Responds to Threat on American Airlines Jet

A Federal Air Marshal was put in a tough spot today, and was forced to shoot and kill a deranged passenger:

An agitated passenger who claimed to have a bomb in his backpack was shot and killed by a federal air marshal Wednesday after he bolted frantically from a jetliner that was about to take off, officials said. No bomb was found.

The man, identified as Rigoberto Alpizar, a 44-year-old U.S. citizen, was gunned down on a jetway just before the American Airlines plane was about to leave for Orlando, near his home in Maitland.

It was the first time since the Sept. 11 attacks that an air marshal had shot at anyone, Homeland Security Department spokesman Brian Doyle said.

According to a witness, the man frantically ran down the aisle of the Boeing 757, flailing his arms, while his wife tried to explain that he was mentally ill and had not taken his medication.

The passenger indicated there was a bomb in his bag and was confronted by air marshals but ran off the aircraft, Doyle said. The marshals went after him and ordered him to get down on the ground, but he did not comply and was shot when he apparently reached into the bag, Doyle said.

The Air Marshal did what he had to do under the circumstances, though it's a shame that it was mental problems that caused the shooting. Why someone with bipolar disorder would get on a flight without taking his medication is beyond me. He and his wife paid a terrible price for that decision.

The question now is how long will it take the family to file a civil rights lawsuit against...well, everybody...and how long until some Democrat demands that the Air Marshals be disarmed to avoid accidental shootings. You know it'll happen.