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The Situation Room

Airline Threat Suspect Killed

Aired December 07, 2005 - 17:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: It's 5:00 p.m. here in Washington. To our viewers in the United States and around the world, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM, where news and information from around the world arrive in one place at the same time.
It's 5:00 p.m. in Miami, where this bomb threat supposedly occurred. A mad rush on an airliner, it all ends with a fatal shooting of a fleeing passenger. We'll tell you what's going on. What's behind the security scare? How grave was the actual threat, if there was a threat? Did air marshals handle it properly? We're watching all angles of this story.

I'm Wolf Blitzer, and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

We want to welcome our international viewers as well.

An urgent security scare with a deadly outcome came after an American Airlines jetliner landed in Miami on a flight from Colombia. There was an apparent bomb threat, a chase by air marshals and a fatal shooting.

Our Homeland Security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve, is standing by. Let's go to her right now with a complete update on what we know. Jeanne?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, first a little bit of a clarification. A spokesman for the Federal Air Marshals told us just a short time ago, and I reported a short time ago, that this individual had flown in on this flight from Colombia, had deplaned in Miami, gone through Customs, and was getting back on the same aircraft.

I'm now told by a Department of Homeland Security official that, in fact, he came in on a different aircraft, an aircraft from Ecuador. It did have the same flight number, but it was a different aircraft.

It came in from Ecuador, he deplaned in Miami, gone through Customs, had gotten back on this flight, this aircraft that had come in from Colombia, and was going to be traveling on to Orlando. It was at that point in time that this individual threatened that he had a bomb in his carry-on bag.

According to federal air marshals, he was told to leave the aircraft. He did so. But then he refused to comply with their orders to put down that bag. Instead, he acted aggressively towards the air marshals, made a motion as if reaching inside his bag. It's at that point in time that federal air marshals fired two or three shots. This according to a spokesman from the Federal Air Marshals.

This individual was killed. He has identified by a spokesman for the Federal Air Marshals as Rigoberto Alpizar, 44 years old, a U.S. citizen.

Wolf, back to you.

BLITZER: And just to be precise, Jeanne, as our viewers know it's been about three hours now since this deadly incident occurred. And first reports in these kinds of incidents very often are not necessarily accurate, they're incomplete. That's why we're getting the information to our viewers as we get it. We're trying to confirm and be as precise as we possibly can be.

MESERVE: That's correct. And going to very official sources here, not trading in gossip that's happening, official sources told us one thing, but the story does change as they gather more information and they relay it to us.

So this change, he didn't come in on the same flight. However, officials concur, both from the Federal Air Marshals and the Department of Homeland Security, that he was traveling with a woman. According to the Federal Air Marshals, they had an argument on the first part of this flight, this flight from Ecuador, apparently, into Miami.

Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Jeanne. Stand by. I want to show our viewers some new video that we're just getting in to CNN only moments ago.

Take a look at this, this video of a bag that was removed from an American Airlines flight and was blown up. Watch this. There it is.

Let's rack that up again and show that to our viewers once again. This is video that we just got moments ago of bags that had been taken off the plane, the reverse screening. Dogs were sniffing apparently something suspicious there. Take a look once again.

All right. There it is.

This is a standard operating procedure in a situation like this. We heard from Richard Falkenrath, our homeland security analyst, moments ago that if they do get anything suspicious, they would obviously not want to take any chances whatsoever. And so local authorities, whether local authorities or federal authorities, went ahead and blew up that bag that was removed from aircraft.

This flight had come in from Medellin, was in Miami, and was going to continue on to Orlando.

Our John Zarrella is over at Miami International Airport right now. He's getting more information. What are you picking up, John?

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, as Jeanne said, you know, it's still very fluid, things are changing. And at first we had been told that there would be nothing but a paper statement issued by the police here at the airport, Miami-Dade Police.

Now we are being told that there will be a briefing, at least an on-camera statement given by authorities here at some point, although we're not sure exactly where. Probably inside the airport is where that will take place.

We also can tell you we're out in front of the airport, in front of Concourse E. Many of the American Airlines flights arrive and depart from this particular concourse. During no point in this incident today was the entire airport shut down, but the one concourse where the incident took place was briefly shut down, evacuated, as this was all unfolding.

Now, it's interesting, because some passengers who we talked to, and that our affiliate stations here talked to, some said they had no idea what happened in the -- in the jetway, the loading bridge. But other passengers, if they didn't see what had happened, certainly heard it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She heard three gunshots, and then everyone was running -- like, everyone was going crazy. They got up and started running.

And she went to go get me because I was in the restroom, and she went in there and she was like, there's an emergency. Hurry up and get out.

So then I got out, and we just -- we ran the other way, where everyone was -- where everyone was going. And then from there, that's when everybody was running the other way.

The police game and everything, and from what I heard, they captured the man, but they shot him, and that he's dead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZARRELLA: Now, as you were just mentioning and showing that video of the teams that blew up that one bag, I guess the question is, why have they waited to hold this press briefing here? Probably until they determine whether for sure there was nothing of any danger to the passengers or the plane, and until they were able to detonate that bag and once and for all determine what was or was not in there.

So clearly, that's probably one of the reasons why it's taken so long here at the airport, three-plus hours now since this incident took place, why it has taken so long to actually get a statement, written or otherwise, from the police authorities here at the airport.

Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. John, we're showing our viewers these live pictures from the tarmac at Miami International Airport, where you are. You see this -- this security individual wearing this bomb suit. And these are live pictures. You see some bags that have been placed further away from the terminal, further away from the aircraft. We just saw one bag that was exploded, that was blown up for security concerns. Presumably, these bags have been removed from the area closer to the plane because of some suspicious odor that the canines, the dogs may have picked up. And they've taken these bags.

There you see those two bags right there. One of them, a third bag, already was blown up. I think you see some of the residue from that explosion there. And maybe they're going to be blowing up those two bags as well.

We don't know what's inside those bags. We suspect that the dogs smelled something that raised alarm bells. The bags were removed.

There it is. You saw it live here on CNN. That bag was just blown up. And I assume that other bag right next to it is going to be blown up as well.

This is at least the second bag removed from this American Airlines flight that has been blown up. And we're going to watch these pictures.

There you see the third bag right there. And I suspect they're going to blow that one up as well. You see authorities there watching all of this and making sure they're doing precisely what they're supposed to be doing.

In all of the years you've been in Miami, John Zarrella, and you've been out at this airport out there, have you ever seen anything like this go on before?

ZARRELLA: No. Nothing like this, Wolf. And certainly, back in the early '80s, mid '80s, we covered many hijackings out of Miami airport, hijackings of planes being taken back to Havana, Cuba, over the years where air marshals were on planes in those days, thwarting -- trying to thwart hijackings, it seemed, all kinds of things, but never anything like this.

I guess the question, Wolf, is, were those Rigoberto Alpizar's bags? Is that why they detonated them? And again, I think those are questions, you know, that we will have answered in a news conference that we understand now is going to take place at 5:30, in about 20 minutes.

We will have that live for our viewers, is what I'm being told.

Again, the question would be, are those just random bags that the dogs picked out, or are they bags that had been put on the plane, and that they were Rigoberto Alpizar's bags apparently on his way to Orlando.

Wolf.

BLITZER: Ah, the question -- those are good questions. I don't know the answer. Richard Falkenrath and Clark Kent Ervin are here in THE SITUATION ROOM. They're watching these live pictures.

You see that sapper. You see that man wearing that suit. It looks like they had removed that bag from the plane. We saw two other bags exploded. I suspect that third bag is about to be exploded as well.

What do you make of this, Richard?

RICHARD FALKENRATH, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: I've never seen this before. My conjecture is that the dogs detected something that was sufficiently alarming that they wanted to take this heightened action. But this one is new to me. I really hope they have good reason to be doing what they're doing, because every news network in the country will be covering this, and someone is going to have to explain it.

BLITZER: Why they are taking these bags and exploding them, as opposed to maybe opening them up and looking for evidence, if there is evidence inside.

Clark Kent Ervin, you were the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security. Have you ever seen an operation like this?

CLARK KENT ERVIN, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: I've not seen this. And because of the potential evidentiary value of whatever's contained in the bags, as Richard said, it seems to me there must have been indications of potential explosives there for them to have exploded them. So I'll be very interested in exactly why, but that's the most logical explanation, it seems to me.

BLITZER: And the dogs are very good. If there were explosives, residue or actual bomb, or anything of that nature, the dogs would pick that up?

FALKENRATH: Yes, the dogs are by far the best explosive detector known to man. And even if someone had explosives that they were working with prior to packing a bag, it's possible that the dog would pick it up.

BLITZER: And -- but I assume if they really believe there could be a bomb in one of those bags, and the dog picked it up, or there's any other evidence that they may have, any comments, statements, that they're getting from other passengers, or anything like that, they don't want to take any chances. They want to just blow it up

ERVIN: Absolutely. If there's any reason to think there are explosives there, they want to blow it up.

Now, of course this just shows that we're in an unfolding story here, and the word had been that there weren't explosives. So if it turns out that there were, then that completely changes the calculus, needless to say.

BLITZER: There's that third bag right there. Our affiliate, WFOR, is on the scene. Two other bags were exploded. And maybe this one is about to go pop as well, because it's being -- it was clearly isolated from the airline, from the plane, isolated from the terminal, isolated from everyone else. And I suspect if they're going to follow suit, that this bag is about to become history as well. We'll keep an eye on it, courtesy of our affiliate.

And just to give our viewers some perspective of what we're seeing, this is not only the first time that federal air marshals have fired a shot, a deadly shot in this particular case since 9/11, this is the first time, I think, since 9/11 -- at least I don't remember a time where bags have been removed from a plane that has landed in the United States and are being blown up on the tarmac at an airport. I don't remember an incident of this nature, but then again, it's possible.

FALKENRATH: That's right. Who knows what it is. Maybe there's more to this whole thing than we're aware of.

Maybe there was a particular reason to be worried about this individual or this flight. It's always possible. And I've learned that often there's more to stories than meets the eye.

But sometimes it's just the operational agencies out in the field following their standard operating procedures without really thinking of the wider implications. And I worry that this incident, in addition to being a great tragedy and a serious...

BLITZER: Potentially a great tragedy.

FALKENRATH: Yes. Well, there clearly is one dead person. And a serious security incident is also a growing public affairs headache for the Department of Homeland Security and the federal government.

ERVIN: Well, that said, I'd add a little bit to that, Wolf. You asked a question earlier as to what lessons can be drawn from this, from the average member of the public. If I were an average member of the public with not a lot of insight into the Department of Homeland Security, I must say I'd be heartened by this, because it shows that the air marshals are on a heightened state of alert and that they're taking threats seriously based on what they apparently knew at the time.

A fellow says he has a bomb in the bag, and he reaches into the bag. It seems to me they did the right thing, and the procedures they're following now appear to be appropriate to the situation at issue.

BLITZER: He's wearing the suit, the protective gear, Richard, as he walks out towards that bag once again. How safe is he in that protective gear, assuming that there is a worst-case scenario, a bomb inside that bag?

FALKENRATH: I really don't know. Clearly, if there's a big enough bomb in that bag he would not be safe at all. But he is an explosive demolition expert, and hopefully he understands the risks that he's involved in. I don't know what agency he's from. BLITZER: It looks like he's getting ready to put some sort of device there to blow this up, similar to what has just happened with those two other bags. It looks like he's putting some sort of, I guess, detonation -- or what do you suspect he's doing? If he's going to blow that up, he's putting a little explosive device himself in there to blow it up.

ERVIN: Right. And my...

BLITZER: And there must be really good reason for him to want to do that.

ERVIN: Clearly. And my bet would be that he's from ATF, the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Bureau.

BLITZER: You're probably right, if, in fact, they have agents on the scene in Miami -- at Miami International Airport.

ERVIN: And we've been at this for three hours or so now. So I bet they probably do have people on the scene by now.

BLITZER: We're going to keep this picture up. We'll keep our eye on this bag out there. I assume -- I assume it's -- well, the photographer is now panning over and watching the explosives expert walk away instead of keeping the shot on the bag. We'll see what happens.

But he's walking away. They're all standing behind this little truck that's out there. Maybe for security concerns, but there he's panned back, and we'll see what happens to this bag, if, in fact, they put an explosive device on it. I suspect very, very soon we're going to see that bag explode, as we saw these other two bags explode only moments ago on the tarmac at Miami International Airport.

It's 5:16 Eastern right now. And this incident has been going on now for more than three hours.

Shortly after 2:00 p.m. Eastern, an individual who had flown into Miami -- there it is. There you saw it. That is at least the third bag removed from this American Airlines Flight 923 and isolated on the tarmac that has been blown up.

John Zarrella, you're at the airport right now. I don't know if you saw our live picture of what has happened, but it's pretty disturbing.

ZARRELLA: I know, Wolf. I'm listening to your play-by-play of it. I have not been able to actually see it, but the way you've described it, I certainly in all the years I've been down here have never seen or heard anything quite like that.

And again, we're expecting a briefing by the Metro Dade Police in just a few minutes.

My cameraman, Ricardo, is going to give you a shot. It's just over my right shoulder. You can see where all of the news media is gathered there.

We're on an upper level here at Miami International Airport, where all of the media -- this is an area where the media is allowed to come, allowed to park. And this outside garden area, if you will, is where this press briefing is going to take.

And you can see now, as the camera comes back over to me, that I'm literally standing on the sidewalk, at the edge of the departure ramp area where the departing flights are. And this is -- a lot of American Airline flights actually depart from this concourse, Concourse E. Concourse D is just in front of me a little ways, where many other American flights depart.

And I think, Wolf, that certainly with all of the developments, with these bags being detonated out on the tarmac there, that what we are actually seeing, and the reason why this press briefing has been -- not taken place yet, is for the reason that they're trying to make sure that they have a complete understanding, airport authorities and the police authorities, and probably the FBI as well, understanding of what they were dealing with here, and that probably could not be fully understood until those bags were detonated.

So, again, Wolf, waiting now. About 12 minutes, we're told, although don't hold me firmly to that. But told about 12 minutes to a briefing that will take place from police and possibly airport authority officials here -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, John. Stand by. We'll stand by for that briefing. We'll have live coverage from Miami International Airport.

About three hours ago, a deadly shooting incident. A passenger shot and killed by U.S. air marshals, supposedly making bomb threats, acting mysteriously.

He is dead, a 44-year-old U.S. citizen. And only moments ago, three bags that were removed from that American airliner, removed and isolated on the tarmac, we saw those three bags detonated, exploded, and abundance of caution, we presume, after dogs sniffed and smelled something suspicious. We don't know whether it was explosives or what.

We'll monitor all of these developments. We'll take a quick break.

Much more of our special coverage from here in THE SITUATION ROOM right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: It's now been almost -- it's been a little bit more than three hours since a deadly incident occurred at Miami International Airport. Welcome back to our continuing coverage here in THE SITUATION ROOM in Washington.

I'm Wolf Blitzer, reporting.

Not only was a 44-year-old American citizen killed by U.S. air marshals after acting, behaving suspiciously, only moments ago we also saw three bags removed from an American Airlines flight and detonated after dogs presumably sniffed and smelled something suspicious.

We saw someone walk out there dressed in a bomb suit, place an explosive himself on these three bags that have been isolated on the target, and we saw those bags explode -- presumably part of an abundance of caution.

The bomb squad on the scene. There's one of the bags that exploded deliberately. This is a planned explosion after some suspicions, alarm bells were raised. Those two other bags in the minutes that followed exploded as well. We'll show that to you.

We're only minutes away from a news conference in Miami, at Miami International Airport. Presumably, we're going to be getting some more specific information. There -- they're hooking up the microphones, getting ready for authorities to come out and brief the news media on what they know, what has happened.

We do know a 44-year-old American citizen is dead. He had flown in, we're told by our Jeanne Meserve, on a flight from Ecuador into Miami. This flight had come in originally from Medellin, landed in Miami, and was continuing on to Orlando. This individual then got back on this plane, tried to get on this plane, was acting suspiciously.

Authorities asked him to leave. And on the jetway, as he was walking out, apparently said something, or reached into his carry-on bag, and authorities, air marshals, went ahead and shot and killed him.

Clark Kent Ervin is here with us in THE SITUATION ROOM watching all of this.

Two major developments that we're seeing. And it's clear that there may be more to this than simply standard operating procedure, at least I suspect there may be more to it. Seeing these bags removed, isolated and blown up, that would reinforce some of the -- at least security concerns they have from this entire incident.

ERVIN: That's exactly right. It seems as though they wouldn't have blown up the bags unless, as you said, the dogs sniffed something, indicating the presence of explosives. And if that's true, then obviously that would validate the decision of the air marshals to shoot.

BLITZER: If there weren't -- the dogs didn't smell anything like explosives, but the bags still were still suspicious, would they then, in a total abundance of caution, simply go blow them up?

ERVIN: Well, I doubt that, because, after all, the bags could contain some evidence. So it's seems to me -- we don't know, of course, but it seems to me that they're unlikely to have blown up the bags unless there was something to indicate the presence of explosives

BLITZER: And we're waiting, as we say, for this news conference to begin momentarily at Miami International Airport. And authorities will come out and brief the press. And you see this live picture we have from the scene.

John Zarrella, our veteran reporter, on the scene at Miami International Airport. You're only feet away, John, from that news conference. Give our viewers in the United States and around the world an update on what we anticipate will happen at this news conference. Who is going to be briefing the news media and what do we expect to learn?

ZARRELLA; Well, we believe it will be Miami-Dade Police and the Aviation Authority here at the airport, perhaps airport officials as well will be on hand here. And hopefully they will lay out for us the scenario as best they know it, as to exactly what transpired, when things transpired. And now the interesting question and troubling question, why they had to detonate those three bags.

You would think that they had cleared -- that they had gone through the detectors, metal detectors. They had been screened here at the airport before they ever got on board that flight, so you wonder why they would have gone to those lengths, unless, as you and our experts have pointed out, that there were some issues with those particular bags.

I can tell you, Wolf, that some passengers...

BLITZER: Let me interrupt you, John.

ZARRELLA: Yes, Wolf. Go ahead.

BLITZER: Let me interrupt for a second. I want to just ask Clark Kent Ervin, can we assume that all checked bags -- not the hand-held bags, the carry-on bags, but all checked bags -- are x-rayed, they go through metal detectors?

ERVIN: Yes, they are supposed to. And there are variances from time to time. There are alternative screening procedures that are permitted under certain circumstances. But nine times out of 10, close to 10 times out of 10, all checked baggage is screened. So this checked baggage presumably was screened beforehand.

BLITZER: Even if these bags were -- came on the flight in Miami to continue on to Orlando, let's say they came in from Ecuador, they went through whatever process they have in Ecuador, they landed in Miami, the bags were then transferred to this other plane to continue on to Orlando, the bags presumably would have gone through metal detectors or x-ray devices.

ERVIN: They should have been screened at that point.

BLITZER: John, is that your information as well?

ZARRELLA: Yes. Yes, and, in fact, no matter whether these bags, if they came off the plane in Ecuador, they would have had to clear Customs here in Miami, anyway, before they could have come back on, and then been put on the flight to Orlando.

So, you know, there would have been more than perhaps one instance in which these bags would have been checked, if that's the scenario that we're dealing with here, and that in fact these may be the bags belonging to Alpizar, Rigoberto Alpizar, the man who was shot to death by the agents here today.

So the question, though, Wolf, again, you know, as we wait for this press conference, is, you know, exactly what happened. And passengers that we had an opportunity to speak with, some of them said that they didn't hear or see anything. And there are other passengers who at least heard a lot more.

BLITZER: And, you know, John, I'm just getting this information in. And I want to show our viewers the first picture that we're getting now of this 44-year-old American who was shot and killed, Rigoberto Alpizar -- I'm not sure exactly how to pronounce his last name. But this is a picture that we're getting from our affiliate of this 44-year-old passenger who is described, supposedly, by his wife who was traveling with him as being mentally -- mentally unstable and was not taking his medication. And he is dead now.

Our affiliate in Miami, WKMG, as you can see up on the screen there, providing this still photo of Rigoberto Alpizar, 44 years old, shot and killed by U.S. Air Marshals, or a U.S. Air Marshal in the jetway between the plane and terminal as he was asked to get off this flight that was about to take off from Miami to Orlando.

All of the circumstances sit still very, very unclear, lots of unanswered questions.

John Zarrella is there at Miami International Airport, standing by momentarily for the start of this news conference. Maybe some of these questions, John, will be answered.

ZARRELLA: I think so, Wolf. And I certainly -- I believe that that's what the delay has been while they continue to gather the information and piece this all together, so that when they do come out and talk with us, they have answers to the questions that obviously, you know, we want.

Now, we're understanding from what my producer, Rich Phillips, is telling me, is that -- the U.S. Marshals, Rich, and the TSA representatives? That's correct. U.S. Marshals and TSA will be speaking at this briefing, Wolf. And, you know, all we know right now is what passengers are telling us.

I'm not sure whether we're getting ready to go to that press briefing or not. No, not yet, Wolf.

But, again, some passengers, as I was saying, didn't hear -- didn't see or hear anything.

(CROSSTALK)

ZARRELLA: They're handing out a written statement.

BLITZER: Yes, they're handing out a written statement. I'm sure our producer on the scene will... ZARRELLA: As soon as I get that over to me, I will read that to us.

BLITZER: ... will bring it to you and...

ZARRELLA: Right.

BLITZER: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

ZARRELLA: ... get that over to me.

BLITZER: And I assume that's the official statement that's being handed out.

Here in THE SITUATION ROOM, we're showing multiple screens, multiple pictures from our affiliates, from our own camera, John. So, we got that shot of some of the reporters already...

ZARRELLA: As soon as I can that statement.

(CROSSTALK)

ZARRELLA: Patrick ...

BLITZER: Some of the reporters already reading the statement.

ZARRELLA: I have the...

BLITZER: All right. Read the statement to us, John.

ZARRELLA: I have it now, Wolf.

BLITZER: Read the statement to us, John, as you get it.

ZARRELLA: Hang on, Wolf.

BLITZER: Why don't you just read it to us?

ZARRELLA: Oh, here we go.

"Administrators at Miami International Airport are reporting that operations are back to normal after an incident involving a passenger" -- and, if I can keep the wind from blowing this -- "and a federal officer. Due to the incident, Concourse D was closed for approximately 30 minutes. However, the concourse has since partially reopened.

"As a result, only one flight was delayed. Miami International Airport officials are managing the situation by assigning incoming flights to available gates. Departures and arrivals are on schedule. However, passengers are encouraged to contact their airlines before coming to the airport."

So, this statement just released by airport officials, not the briefing or statement that we are waiting for, but just the disposition of the airport right now and how they are handling the incoming and departing flights, Wolf -- again, back to normal after Concourse D, which is just in front of me here, was closed for approximately 30 minutes.

Wolf.

BLITZER: And I'm going to show that picture of Rigoberto Alpizar once again to our viewers. There he is, Rigoberto Alpizar, the 44- year-old U.S. citizen, this courtesy of our affiliate, WKMG. This 44- year-old man had been on a flight from Ecuador to Miami, got off that plane, went through Customs, we are told, was getting on this flight, this flight from Miami that was going to continue on -- to Orlando. And as he was getting on the plane, apparently, words were exchanged. Something was said that raised the concerns of U.S. Air Marshals on the scene. They asked him to leave.

As he was walking off the plane on to the jetway leading toward the terminal, something happened that totally must have spooked the U.S. Air Marshals. We're told he reached into the bag after being told to stop, and he was shot and killed.

We're standing by for this news conference.

And, John Zarrella, just to be precise, Miami-Dade authorities, as well as representatives from the Transportation Security Administration -- and U.S. Marshals, you say, will be briefing reporters?

ZARRELLA: Well, we know for sure it's going to be the U.S. Marshals that are briefing and the TSA representatives.

We were assuming that airport authority and Miami-Dade might be present as well. But, right now, the two that we are told and can confirm would be the TSA officials as one. They would be here as well.

BLITZER: We're told that Rick Thomas of the TSA, Jim Bauer of the U.S. Marshals Service will be speaking at this news conference. I'm not sure who else.

But hold on for a second, John.

Clark Kent Ervin is here with us in THE SITUATION ROOM. Tell us me the U.S. Marshals -- are the air marshals part of the U.S. Marshals?

KENT: They're not part of it, no. I find it curious that the marshals are here. Now, their typical responsibility is to serve federal summonses and to transport federal prisoners. So, I would think that a more logical entity to be involved would be, of course, the FBI, other elements of the Department of Homeland Security besides TSA, like ICE, for example, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau, because this passenger originated on a flight from Ecuador. So, I'm surprised by that.

BLITZER: I'm surprised, too. And I heard U.S. Marshals Service. I was wondering, maybe someone is getting confused with the air marshals, as opposed to U.S. Marshals Service, which is a totally different federal agency.

ERVIN: Precisely. And, again, because of this explosive thing that we have seen so far, it wouldn't surprise me if ATF was involved as well. And I'm surprised that, apparently, they're not.

BLITZER: John Zarrella, you're there on the scene for us, as you often are on these big stories that we are watching.

And I just want to alert our viewers and remind our viewers, we're standing by for this news conference. And, hopefully, we will get some answers to all these unanswered questions as we await, a lot of reporters on the scene at Miami International Airport as well.

I want to remind our viewers that we have the reports now of this 44-year-old American citizen, Rigoberto Alpizar, who was killed, shot and killed by air marshals. We also saw three bags that had raised alarm bells that were removed from the belly of this plane, Flight 924, isolated on the tarmac, and then detonated. They exploded, a deliberate, planned explosion.

For whatever reason, suspicions, alarm bells were raised. Those bags were simply blown up, something I haven't seen in a long time, although I assume these kind of things happen.

And, Clark Kent Ervin, I assume they're going according to the book, whatever the book tells them, the standard operating procedure. Dogs sniff something like this, you don't take any chances; you blow it up.

ERVIN: That's exactly right. That's the standard operating procedure.

BLITZER: John Zarrella, give us a little bit more context in Miami right now, where you are, a little bit of flavor of what's happening at that airport.

ZARRELLA: Well, right now, you wouldn't know, certainly, that anything had transpired here, other than the fact that all the news media has gathered here in this area on the top deck of the airport, where the departing flights come and go from.

You can see, as a matter of fact, over here, people boarding the airport shuttle buses, you know, people walking nonchalantly across here, which has been the case throughout much of the day, Wolf, that, as we had said and read in the statement from Miami airport, that the concourse was shut down for about 30 minutes, but that overall airport operations were not affected, and that would be the scene.

Most of the people here have no idea what has happened or what took place here at the airport. And -- and, in fact, Wolf, that's -- you know, what may happen here, in the end, is, when we finally get to this news briefing, is that certain things may end up have been lost in the translation. And it may be air marshals that end up coming out and not the U.S. Marshals.

BLITZER: Well, you know what? I'm going to stop you for a second. I'm getting new information. As we suspected, it is, in fact, the special agent in charge of the Federal Air Marshal Service who will be speaking at this news conference, not representatives from the U.S. Marshals Service, which is a totally separate entity.

ZARRELLA: Separate.

BLITZER: Clark Kent Ervin knows the federal bureaucracy as well as anyone, and I have been around Washington long enough to know the federal bureaucracy myself. So, I was suspicious why the U.S. Marshals Service would be involved.

But, in fact, we're now told that Jim Bauer, the special agent in charge of the Federal Air Marshal Service, will be speaking, as well as representatives from Miami-Dade Police, and probably, John Zarrella, from FBI as well, as we all expected.

This is a combination of local, state and federal authorities. We're going to have a piece of this investigation, no doubt. And there are going to be a lot of unanswered questions.

Clark, you're not surprised that we clarified that matter.

ERVIN: Not at all. And -- and, by the way, one of the things I think we should remark on is the fact that there's federal, state and local involvement here.

You know, in that recent New York subway incident, one of the problems was that there was a disconnect between the Department of Homeland Security and the city officials there. There was no DHS presence there. So, it's good to see that the state officials, the local officials, I should say, and the DHS officials are knit up here, and we are going to have a joint statement at a joint news conference.

BLITZER: All right. Before we get to that to that news conference -- and we're standing by, to our viewers in the United States and around the world. We're going to go to that news conference as soon as it begins.

In the meantime, though, we're joined from Capitol Hill by Congressman John Mica. He's the Republican chairman of the Subcommittee on Aviation, chairman of the Aviation Subcommittee.

What's that full committee, Congressman?

REP. JOHN MICA (R-FL), CHAIRMAN, SUBCOMMITTEE ON AVIATION: Well, you're right. It's the Subcommittee on Aviation. We wrote most of the transportation security legislation.

BLITZER: Have you been briefed yet on what has happened?

MICA: Yes, I have. And from what I have learned, I support the actions of the air marshals 100 percent. Right now, our greatest threat in aviation security is someone carrying on board explosives. And, if you say that you have explosives or indicate you have a bomb, and you don't comply with an air marshal, you're going to pay the consequences. BLITZER: And is that the information you're getting from federal authorities, that is what has happened? You represent Florida, a district in Florida in Daytona Beach.

MICA: Well, they have kept me briefed pretty well, as chairman of Aviation, since the incident. And I believe that to be the case. You have to remember, too, people are going to wring their hands: Is this program working, someone killed innocently? It is working. We have had over two billion passengers flying since September 11. And this is the first incident with a weapon, with an individual taken out.

I support the air marshals. They don't have time for counseling, interviewing these folks. They have got to make split decisions, second decisions. And they did, and I support their actions.

BLITZER: Do we know, Congressman Mica, or at least have you been told, what raised the alarm bells, why this deadly incident occurred?

MICA: Well, there's some indication that he had a bomb or explosives.

Right now, we're on edge. That's our biggest gap in the system. They're not going to take over an aircraft with a gun or with a knife or with scissors. Our biggest threat is explosives. And that was the indication.

The other indication and information I have is, he didn't comply with the direct orders of an air marshal. They will tell you more details. I would rather they do that. But when you meet that criteria, you're going to pay the consequences. And I support our air marshals for making those split-second decisions.

The second-guessing is all fine. But they acted, dealing with a risk that we now face.

BLITZER: One of our affiliates, WKMG, Congressman, down in Florida says that family members of Rigoberto Alpizar, the man who was killed, insist that this was a man who had bipolar disorder.

MICA: I don't care about that. Again, there's an indication. That would be the greatest ruse in the world to have someone say, oh, this guy just has that or something else. Don't think terrorists are not smart. Our air marshals had to make a split-second decision. There was an indication he had a bomb. He was acting as if he did. You will hear the details.

He didn't comply. He paid the consequences. It may be unfortunate. But, again, two billion passengers, millions and millions, tens of millions, hundreds of millions of miles these air marshals have flown. We also have the backup. And we honored with a resolution I introduced just a few hours before this incident, the army of armed pilots, men and women who, at their own expense, have gone through extensive training as a backup system.

So, we're well geared. But our big concern now is explosives. And that's the kind of threat that we had with this individual. BLITZER: Do you know, Congressman, why those three bags were removed from the plane, isolated on the tarmac, and then exploded themselves by local authorities?

MICA: Well, obviously, there's some kind of explosive threat, and you check it out.

BLITZER: But nobody has told you what specifically...

MICA: No, I don't. And you will hear that from the investigators. Again, there may not -- there may not be any explosive. He may not have had explosives. But, again, you have split seconds. The threat now, folks and Wolf, is explosives carried on an -- an aircraft. That's what we're most concerned about, those of us that are concerned about aviation security.

We're getting puffers. We're getting other high-technology to deal with that threat. The Richard Reid scenario, where you got a couple people going on aircraft with explosives, willing to take that down and sacrifice themselves, that's our threat. These air marshals acted appropriate. And I don't want any second-guessing. I support their actions today.

BLITZER: The -- as you know, they're -- I'm sure, Congressman -- and you have been around Washington long enough -- there's going to be a lot of second-guessing in the aftermath of what has happened. And there, presumably, will be an internal investigation by the inspector general at the Department of Homeland Security.

MICA: And all that's proper. But, again, over two billion passengers, Wolf, this one incident. It's an incredible record. And I salute the air marshals. I salute the pilots, men and women who have trained for similar action. And, if they take it, so be it.

BLITZER: We're waiting for this news conference, Congressman. And we are going to go there as soon as it starts. We expect to hear from representatives from the U.S. Air Marshals, the agent in charge. We expect to hear from the FBI, Miami-Dade authorities, and, presumably, others as well. And maybe some of these questions are going to be answered.

You have spent probably more time, Mr. Chairman, on this issue of aviation security than any other member of the House, since you're the chairman of this panel. Did the Air Marshal Service clean up their act after some of the reports early on that some of the individuals who were hired may not necessarily have had the best background checks?

MICA: Well, you have got to remember, we started out with very few air marshals. It was just a few blocks from here when I -- I talked to the attorney general at the time and other officials on the night of September 11 to get anyone we could out in the air who was armed and able to defend our aircraft.

We did that. And we hired people in rapid order. Some of that took some sorting out. But I think, as a whole, we have done very well. This is a -- one of the most professional teams ever assembled. And it's not easy work. And it's hard work.

And every split second, they have to be ready to act. And they acted today. So, this will be fully investigated. Maybe there were some problems. But I'm telling you, the system works very well and it provides us with a kind of security, particularly given the threat. And that threat is, again, explosives, that they acted properly, and I defend their actions.

BLITZER: Do you know anything else about this 44-year-old passenger who was shot and killed?

MICA: No. I'm sure he will be infamous within 24 hours, and we will hear about all of his problems.

But, again, you have got to understand the situation that our air marshals are in, or a pilot, given the type of situation that we have. They acted to make a decision, based on, again, our current threat. And that -- that's all I can say.

You will hear all the details from the officials. And there will be a full investigation. And I am sure we will do that, both from Capitol Hill, after the local authorities, state and federal, have concluded their review.

BLITZER: Well, our Homeland Security analyst, Congressman, Clark Kent Ervin, who himself is a former inspector general at the Department of Homeland Security, served during the first term of this president, the Bush administration, he's here in THE SITUATION ROOM.

And I think he would like to ask you a question, if that's OK with you.

MICA: Go right ahead.

ERVIN: Mr. Chairman, could you elaborate on your saying that you think the number-one threat right now is explosives. I agree with that.

After all, just Friday, the TSA announced that they're going to pay more attention to explosives and less to scissors and screwdrivers and that kind of thing.

MICA: Well, absolutely. I have been after them.

Again, the inspector general knows that we put in place measures, secured cockpit doors, air marshals, armed pilots. And we also have this other element we didn't have before. We have people who know the consequences. And, even, we have had a few incidents where someone has threatened to -- to disrupt an aircraft. The passengers have acted.

So, that's another part of the team in place. Right now, though, we don't have in place the technology. You can walk through, unfortunately, some screening equipment. It doesn't screen you for explosives. We're on a crash program to deploy puffers, to employ other trace detection employment to see what people are carrying on board an aircraft. That's the kind of threat that we face. And, again, given the word that has gone out, that explosives are our threat -- and they really are our risk, if you look at all of our risk -- these air marshals acted right on target and did, I think, what they need to do.

But the inspector general is -- raises the point that we -- we have still got a long way to go in getting the equipment and technology to deal with the problem.

BLITZER: Congressman, if you have a few moments to wait with us until this news conference begins, I want to keep you with us, if that's OK with you.

MICA: Go right ahead.

BLITZER: Dave Adams is joining as well. He's spokesman for the air marshals from the Department of Homeland Security headquarters. I want him to weight in and tell us what he can. Dave, tell us what you know about this incident.

DAVE ADAMS, SPOKESMAN, FEDERAL AIR MARSHAL SERVICE: Yes.This afternoon, we had an individual flying in from Columbia that was cleared Customs in Miami and was boarding back on an American Airlines flight to continue on to Orlando. While aboard the continuation flight while it was still at the gate, this individual stated he had a bomb in his bag.

The federal air marshal team aboard the flight asked the individual to deplane. He got off the aircraft and was walking down the jetway in a very robust manner. The federal air marshals told him to stop, drop the bag, put his hands over his head. He failed to comply. He turned, started approaching the federal air marshals again. Based on their law enforcement training, they told him to stop, drop the bag, drop to the ground. He failed to do this repeatedly, after being told. So, based on their training, they then had discharged their weapon to immediately stop the threat. And the individual was subdued.

BLITZER: He was shot and killed in the process.

Dave, you say that the individual had come in on this flight come from Colombia? Because we were getting information from our Jeanne Meserve that the individual had actually come into Miami from Ecuador.

ADAMS: Well, the initial reports that I have, that he -- that he could have come in from Columbia, but Jeanne might have more updated information. But I do know the fact that he was on the outbound flight going to Orlando.

BLITZER: Have you heard these reports from his family members, Dave, that this is an individual, may have been mentally unstable, bipolar disease, and had not taken his medication?

ADAMS: I have heard the reports on the networks, but I can't confirm that. And, obviously, that would be a part of the ongoing investigation, which is being coordinated between the FBI, TSA, the Federal Air Marshal Service, and Metro Dade Police Department.

BLITZER: And the standard operating procedure, Dave, I take it, in an incident like this, where alarm bells are -- are raised and people are worried and the air marshals themselves are fearful for their own lives, the standard operating procedure is to shoot to kill or shoot to injure?

ADAMS: No, shoot to stop the immediate threat -- to stop the immediate threat. And that's what the federal air marshals did. They stopped the immediate threat and immediately subdued the individual.

BLITZER: How many air marshals were involved in this incident?

ADAMS: We don't disclose the number of federal air marshals on the flight, but I can assure you that they do not fly alone.

BLITZER: And is there reason to believe that these air marshals identified themselves to this passenger as federal law enforcement authorities? Because they were wearing plainclothes.

ADAMS: Yes, they were. They will notify themselves: I'm a federal air marshal. I'm police. Stop. Police. Stop.

This is part of the ongoing training that they receive at the academy, and then also during the -- the training they receive at the 21 field offices on a daily basis.

BLITZER: Dave, John Mica, Congressman John Mica, the chairman of the Aviation Subcommittee, is with us. Clark Kent Ervin, the former inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security, is with us.

Congressman, I wonder if you have a question you would -- you want to ask Dave Adams while we have him.

MICA: Well, not a question. But, again, I salute the air marshals. This is very difficult work. It requires intensive training and then a split-second decision. You know, it's not a pleasant kind of thing. But they have to act in the security, in regard to the security of the plane, the passenger, the situation.

I have tried to tell you several times now that our threat is explosives, and they know that, too. This individual says he has explosives -- the information I had is, he came back towards the plane, didn't comply, explosives involved. That's all I need to know. They acted properly, and I'm going do everything I can to support those air marshals.

They don't need to get into interviewing people. They don't have time to do counseling. It is unfortunate if this individual suffers from some mental health problem or something. But we deal with a very serious situation. We have had one incident in over two billion passengers. So, I'm pleased with the outstanding performance of the air marshals.

BLITZER: All right. Dave Adams, do you know why these three bags, at least three bags, were removed from the plane, removed from all the other bags, isolated on the tarmac, and exploded by local bomb experts?

ADAMS: Well, that's part of the protocol, is, basically, if in fact there might be a bomb aboard the aircraft or a bomb on this individual's person.

However, they were exploded, but now they are going to have to be going to a laboratory for further analysis to determine the actual contents of the bags.

BLITZER: Do we know why -- what -- what raised the alarm bells on -- as far as these three specific pieces of baggage, Dave?

ADAMS: Yes. I don't know, as far as that part of it.

BLITZER: The air marshals really don't have anything to do with the baggage, is that right?

ADAMS: No, that is correct. That would be something that we would have to worry about, as far as with coordinating that with Metro Dade, as far as the baggage in the cargo part of the air...

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: And it's your information these bombs were detonated by Metro Dade authorities, as opposed to federal authorities. Is that right?

ADAMS: You know, in conjunction with -- again, with the FBI, the Federal Air Marshal Service, and Metro Dade, that they were exploded. That's correct.

BLITZER: What else can you tell Us, Dave Adams, the spokesman for the Federal Air Marshal Service, that we need to know right now?

ADAMS: Oh, I -- what you need to know is that this -- again, this is an isolated incident, and that it is safe to fly, and that this is just a job that the federal air marshals do out there every day. And I think they did an outstanding job protecting the aviation domain. And, again, we contribute that to the training that they receive.

BLITZER: And your special agent in charge on this scene -- we're told Jim Bauer -- he will be among those that will be speaking at this news conference in Miami?

ADAMS: Yes, that is correct.

BLITZER: Do you know him, Jim Bauer?

ADAMS: I know him very well, yes.

BLITZER: And I assume he has all the information on what happened?

ADAMS: Yes. He is the on-scene site adviser for the FAMS. And he has the information on site, yes.

BLITZER: These air marshals that were involved in this incident, I assume they will be questioned, but they will continue on with their jobs during some sort of investigation, if in fact there is an investigation?

ADAMS: Well, yes, any shooting obviously requires an investigation. That's the protocol within the law enforcement community. And -- and, obviously, that will be taking place. And, as far as what their status is, it's too -- it's premature to make any comments at this time.

BLITZER: Will the investigation be undertaken by the Department of Homeland Securities -- Homeland Security -- or will the FBI take charge?

ADAMS: This is going to be a joint investigation between the Bureau and the Federal Air Marshal Service and DHS, because it was -- involved a shooting.

BLITZER: And do officials at the Department of Homeland Security normally resent or welcome the FBI getting involved in an investigation like this?

ADAMS: We cooperate totally with all law enforcement entities in any type of situation.

BLITZER: And, so, that's standard operating procedure in this kind of a situation.

Congressman Mica, we're standing by for this news conference. It looks like they're getting closer. They're preparing those microphones, even as we speak, a little activity going on. It was supposed to start about 25 minutes or so ago.

Clearly, all of the representatives, all the spokesmen who will be coming out to brief the -- brief the news media want to make sure their information is as accurate as possible. And that is why it's, presumably, taking a little bit longer than we had anticipated.

What's the most important question you want answered, Congressman?

MICA: Well, I'm going to go back and review where the individual boarded, what kind of security equipment the individual was screened with.

That's -- one of my concerns, again, is, either from an international departure point or domestic, our capability to detect explosives. We need that equipment in place. Congress has appropriated money. Some of it got squandered away, some on TSA salaries, some of it on some pet projects. But that money really needs to be focused on passenger screening equipment and get that deployed.

We have some puffers. Maybe you have seen them blow a little bit of air and analyze some of the matter. That gives us some protections. They're being deployed on an expedited basis. We also have RF millimeter wave technology that DOD, the Israelis and others are using that we would like to deploy to airports, so that we know people who get on an aircraft don't pose that kind of threat.

But let me say, Wolf, that flying is one of the safest -- we have had no major commercial accident since the September 11 -- post- September 11 and the American Airlines incident. People can fly safely. And, today, we have shown that a system is in place for security, again, with billions of passengers flying and -- and one incident.

BLITZER: Congressman, the authorities are now approaching the microphones.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: They're walking towards the microphones.

I want to thank you very much for joining us.

MICA: Thank you.

BLITZER: Let's listen in. Let's listen in to these authorities. They will introduce themselves. And we will get all the latest information, representatives from local Miami-Dade authorities, as well as federal authorities, including authorities from the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Air Marshal Service, the FBI special agent, and others.

Let's listen in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... will be the first speaker.

Chief, are you going to speak?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

Rick, are you going to speak?

OK.

Just the air marshal special...

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The FBI.

OK. What is your name?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. And Andy Apollony will -- from the FBI?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes -- from the FBI, will speak as well. OK. Go ahead.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can we get spellings?

JAMES BAUER, FEDERAL AIR MARSHAL SERVICE: James E. Bauer, B-A-U- E-R.

I'm a special agent in charge of the Federal Air Marshal Service, Miami field office. Director Bobby Parker -- P-A-R-K-E-R -- Miami-Dade Police Department. ASAC Andy Apollony -- A-P-O-L-L...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: O-N-Y.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You need to speak up. We can't hear you.

BAUER: O-N-Y.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Bauer, could you speak up for us?

BAUER: Oh, I'm sorry. Forgive me. I thought you could hear me.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We can't hear.

BAUER: Oh, forgive me. I'm starting over. OK?

I'm going to speak up big time this time.

(CROSSTALK)

BAUER: My name is James E. Bauer, B-A-U-E-R. I'm the special agent in charge of Federal Air Marshal Service Miami Field Office.

Also with us today here are Director Bobby Parker -- P-A-R-K-E-R -- from Miami-Dade Police Department, and ASAC Andy Apollony -- A-P-O- L-L-O-N-Y -- of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Also here is Federal Security Director Rick Thomas, TSA, in charge of -- in charge of TSA's operation here at Miami International Airport.

We're going to make a short statement about what happened here today. And then I will take a few questions. However, I want to caution you that this investigation is still under way, so we really don't have all the answers to all the questions that you might want to ask of us.

May I start?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Please.

BAUER: At approximately 2:10 this afternoon, American Airlines Flight 924 was boarding at gate D-42. It was in the boarding process.

An individual, later tentatively identified as Rigoberto Alpizar, age 44, was boarding that aircraft as well. At some point, he uttered threatening words that included a sentence to the effect that he had a bomb.

There were federal air marshals on board the aircraft. They came out of their cover, confronted him. And he remained non-compliant with their instructions. As he was attempting to evade them, his actions caused the FAMS to fire shots. And, in fact, he is deceased.

The Miami-Dade Police Department responded to this event and, in fact, are conducting the shooting investigation. The FBI also responded to this, in that a crime was committed aboard an American carrier aircraft, and they have jurisdiction in that matter, and to see whether or not there is a nexus to terrorism.

I will also tell you that the -- the plane was cleared of all passengers. And the things -- the possessions that were in the deceased's possession have been examined by Miami-Dade Police Department bomb squad and have been cleared. There were no explosives involved that we -- that we are aware of, at least on this plane.

We have an investigation under way. There is no reason to believe right now that there is any nexus to terrorism or that, indeed, any other events are associated with this one.

As a tactical matter, the federal air marshals, as has been reported, did deploy federal air marshals to airports throughout the country in a surveillance mode to see if in fact other events were unfolding.

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