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CNN Live Saturday

A Look at LAX Shooting Victim Yakov Aminov

Aired July 06, 2002 - 17:09   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: The motive of the gunman who opened fire at Los Angeles International Airport remains a mystery. Investigators are sifting through details of Hesham Mohamed Hadayet's life trying to figure out what led the Egyptian national to kill two at the El Al ticket counter before being shot and killed by security himself. CNN's Anne McDermott says the victims' families are struggling to understand.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNE MCDERMOTT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was just like Yakov Aminov -- a friend needed a ride to LAX, and Aminov naturally volunteered. And was shot there. He died an hour later at a nearby hospital. His wife fainted when she heard the news. She's pregnant with their sixth child.

MIKE BACHAR, AMINOV'S BROTHER-IN-LAW: Everybody's shocked, we're all shocked. The kids are shocked. We had to sit in a room and explain to five kids that their daddy is not coming home.

MCDERMOTT: What was their daddy like? Well, friends say the Israeli-born diamond dealer was kind, generous, loving.

(on camera): And people here in L.A.'s downtown diamond district say the same thing about Aminov as everyone else...

(voice-over): That he was one of the good guys. And a diamond dealer across the hall from Aminov says, he'll miss him terribly.

ISAAC OHEB, AMINOV'S FRIEND: I'm telling you, we lost one of the best men in the world.

MCDERMOTT: So does the family blame terrorism? We asked their rabbi.

RABBI ARON TENDLER, AMINOV FAMILY RABBI: I don't think they've even thought about it, honestly. As the wife said to me recently, just a few minutes ago, she said, is it going to bring my husband back?

MCDERMOTT: No, says a sister-in-law, but we've got to stop the killing, she says, we've got to.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We can't live like this. I mean, you know, we're scared to go out, we're scared to fly, we're scared to go out of the house.

MCDERMOTT: But that's just what they'll be doing on Sunday. They will go out. They will get on a plane, to take Yakov Aminov home to Israel.

Anne McDermott, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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