Airport Shooter, 23, Identified

Paul Ciancia reportedly carried anti-TSA note; his dad called police today
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 1, 2013 3:57 PM CDT
Airport Shooter Identified as 23-Year-Old
Transportation Security Administration employees hug at LAX after today's shooting.   (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

We've got a name but still no real explanation of why a shooter opened fire at LAX today. Authorities have identified the gunman at Los Angeles International Airport as 23-year-old Paul Ciancia. A law-enforcement official says Ciancia was carrying a note that said he "wanted to kill TSA and pigs," reports AP. One witness tells NBC News that the gunman approached him calmly in the airport while carrying his weapon. "All he said was, 'TSA?' Just like that." (The one person killed in today's shooting was a TSA employee.)

Not much is known about Ciancia at this point, but a separate AP story has this surprising nugget: His father in Pennsville, NJ, called police there this afternoon because Ciancia had texted one of his siblings suggesting he was about to kill himself. The New Jersey chief called the police in LA, who sent a patrol car to his apartment. He wasn't there. "Basically, there were two roommates there," says the Pennsville chief. "They said, 'We saw him yesterday and he was fine.'" (More LAX stories.)

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