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CNN Saturday Morning News
Investigators Appeal to Public to Share Information About Hadayet
Aired July 06, 2002 - 09:07 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.
MEADE: Right now, we're going to switch gears and head to Los Angeles, where investigators are appealing to the public for any information about the man who opened fire at LAX airport, killing two Israelis before he was killed in the incident on Thursday.
Let's talk now to CNN national correspondent Frank Buckley, who's in L.A., and he joins us live with a little bit more.
Frank, good morning.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Robin.
Authorities are asking for information about Hesham Mohamed Hadayet, the man that investigators say is responsible for the shootings that took place here at the El Al counter on July 4. The signage is down here, but you can see that the flowers have arrived in memory of the two people who were killed here two days ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): The July 4 violence at the El Al ticket counter were evident the day after the shootings, bullet holes still visible. But what isn't evident to investigators is just what the motive was for the shootings.
FBI agents say 41-year-old Hesham Mohamed Hadayet, shot dead by an El Al security agent, came to LAX armed with two handguns, extra ammunition, and a six-inch-long hunting knife.
RICHARD GARCIA, FBI AGENT IN CHARGE: It appears that he went there for the intention of killing people. Why he did that is still undetermined.
BUCKLEY: Early Friday, investigators searched Hadayet's Irvine, California, apartment, seizing documents and other potential evidence. So far, FBI agents say, Hadayet doesn't appear to be part of a broader terrorist plot. They say he has no known affiliations with any terrorist organizations, and he appears to have no criminal record.
They say the Egyptian national was granted a U.S. green card in 1992 and may have been working as a licensed limo driver.
Two El Al security agents and one passenger subdued him during the shooting.
DR. DAVID PARKUS, PASSENGER: So I ran out and jumped on his legs and just held his legs down while the security guards tried to disarm him.
BUCKLEY: Investigators say Hadayet was disarmed but died in the process, as did two innocent bystanders, 46-year-old Yakov Aminov, who had come to LAX to drop off friends, and 25-year-old Victoria Hen, a ticket agent for El Al.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
And you can see, looking live at the flowers left here for them at LAX. Authorities looking at everything as a potential motive, everything from terrorism to a hate crime to even possibly some sort of a domestic trouble -- Robin.
MEADE: All right, Frank, thank you so much, good to hear from you on that.
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