Los Angeles airport shooter pleads guilty, faces life term
LOS ANGELES — An unemployed motorcycle mechanic who gunned down airport screening officers at Los Angeles International Airport in a 2013 attack that sent passengers running for their lives pleaded guilty Tuesday to murder and 10 other charges.
Paul Ciancia, 26, pleaded guilty to all 11 charges in the rampage that killed one officer and wounded two others and a teacher who was headed for a flight.
Ciancia, who showed no emotion during the hearing, was spared the death penalty by entering the plea, but he faces a mandatory life term in prison at his sentencing on Nov. 7. He said very little, mostly answering “yes” and “no” to questions posed by a judge.
Survivors of the attack and the family of the officer killed cried as prosecutors explained in detail how Ciancia carried out the Nov. 1, 2013, shooting, motivated by anger about security measures imposed on airline passengers by the U.S. Transportation and Security Administration.