Police officer, man shot at Cleveland airport

[Algorem]

http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/14442805.htm

(a "homeless man"(?) was trying to buy a one-way ticket(?),they wouldn't sell it to him(?),he got in gunfight with cop,"homeless man" is dead,cop's in critical,shot twice in chest,one bullet in lung,they're saying locally)

(OK,there were 3 cops and the "homeless man" took one cop's gun and shot him with it,they're saying)

(also a bystander shot-

Officer, bystander shot at airport ticket counter; Suspect killed

http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=51410&provider=top

CLEVELAND -- A Cleveland Police Officer is in stable condition after being shot at the United ticket counter at Hopkins Airport Thursday morning.

Around 10:10 a.m., the officer became involved in an argument with a man at the ticket counter.

According to Safety Director Martin Flask, the suspect took the police officer's gun and shot the officer twice in the chest. A civilian near the fight was shot as well.

The suspect was shot once...)



The shooting happened at about 10:10 a.m. near the United Airlines area.

Airport director Fred Szabo told the station that a Cleveland police officer confronted a man at the United Airlines ticket counter. A struggle took place and several shots were fired. Both the officer and the man were hit.

The officer was taken was taken to MetroHealth Medical Center. The other person was taken to Fairview Hospital.

Police have limited access to the arrival deck at the airport. Szabo said that flights should not be affected by the shooting.


http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&ie=ISO-8859-1&ncl=http://www.wnbc.com/news/9042249/detail.html

[ixion]

1. killed over an airline ticket

what a glorious country we've become. :-(

[Divernan]

4. No, it was death in the airport vs. death in the plane.

Why would a guy with a gun be trying to buy a one way ticket? Crazy enough to think he could get through security with a gun (loaded, too). Sounds like the wannabe ticket purchaser had murder in mind. That security guard may well have saved a whole planeload of passengers from death. Since I regularly fly via the Cleveland airport, this report is horrifying.
On edit:
OK, the original story was edited, and now it is reported that the man grabbed the policeman's gun. I still don't see where the "homeless" description comes from. And it's lucky no bystanders were shot.

[Kingshakabobo]

7. There's a chance the cop was hit with his own weapon.

Perhaps a struggle took place and the man got a hold of the cop's gun. Maybe not???

[rkc3]

10. The story reads...

"the suspect took the police officer's gun and shot the officer twice in the chest"

[Kingshakabobo]

12. Yes, the OP edited to add more links with clarification. n/t

[ixion]

14. my point is that there was no reason for it to ever escalate to this

degree. My bet is that the cop was an asshat, as so many of them are, and rather than resolve the situation peacefully, decided to be a macho guy.

Why wouldn't they sell him a ticket? What's it there business if he doesn't want to come back? If there are no wants or warrants for the guy, he is (was) a free person and should otherwise be entitled to fly, if he so chooses.

That's all I was sayin'...

[Tinfoil]

21. Last I checked...

United could deny anyone they want from purchasing a ticket on their flight.


He is NOT ENTITLED to fly!

Judging from this shortness of the story, no one here knows the full details of what actually happened. I'm, for the most part, no friend of police, but I doubt the cop was picking a fight.


Like the post below. This guy wasn't killed over an airline ticket. This guy was killed after attempting to murder someone (the police officer) and was a threat to everyone in the terminal.

[tabasco]

24. Cop gets killed in line of duty protecting others from a crazy person

And "your bet" is that he was an asshat.

This is the stupidest thing I've read all day.

It was the cop's fault for being an asshat. :wtf:

I place fault on the crazy murderer, not the dead police officer who was attempting to do his job.

[MisterP]

36. policeman's still alive, last I checked

[TheWatcher]

34. That must be some heavy editing

Did you not see where a bystander was also shot?

[drm604]

13. It's sounds like the man brought it on himself.

He was shooting at a policeman so the police shot back. It doesn't sound like the police are at blame in this.

[toopers]

19. Technically, he was killed over shooting a cop.

N/T

[shenmue]

2. Things disintegrate further

:cry:

[babylonsister]

3. Did the homeless man (?) have a gun and expect to get on

a plane with it?

[Algorem]

6. turns out he took the cop's gun and shot him,another cop shot him

[babylonsister]

8. Thanks for clarifying. That is sad. nt

[rucky]

5. Probably mentally ill. Too sad. n/t

[RebelOne]

9. Where does the story state "homeless man"?

[Algorem]

11. they kept saying "homeless man" at first on local news,might not be true.

Maybe they're just trying to get people to dress better for flights."Eh,shoot a few shabbily-dressed customers,the rest'll get the message,see?""Ooh-ooh!Yeah boss that's the ticket!"


"...Witnesses tell Airport Safety Director Fred Szabo that the suspect may have been homeless. Flask says the suspect was trying to buy a United ticket..."

http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=51410&provider=top


I wasn't going to post anything about it at all at first because they were just saying that a cop shot a homeless man at airport,which is really just another grim local story.then they said he bought a one-way ticket and shot a cop,so I thought a guy with a gun bought a one-way ticket,uh-oh,what was he planning to do?Which would be a big story.But he didn't have a gun,and they wouldn't sell him ticket anyway for some reason,so it really looks like it is just another grim local story.

[951-Riverside]

15. If you don't want to give certain people one way tickets DON'T SELL THEM!

If they had just given this man his ticket which he probably paid for none of this would have happened!

[OhioChick]

16. Homeless man with a

criminal record.

http://www.newsnet5.com/news/9041370/detail.html

[951-Riverside]

17. So people with criminal records are not allowed to fly now?

[OhioChick]

18. Only adding in

what I had read on a local news site.

[Algorem]

23. "a long record for assault, robbery and drugs. served three prison terms"

...When the suspect became abusive with counter personnel, a Cleveland Police Officer pulled him away.


A second cop came on the scene.


At this point, the suspect took the gun from the second officer, shooting the first responding officer on the scene.


A third officer arrives and shoots the suspect dead...

http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=51410&provider=top

[genieroze]

38. * has AF1, so he can fly.

[Neverarepublican]

20. I work at Cleveland Airport

and was there this morning and heard the gunshots. I work for Continental.
We many times have people who are irate and are not happy with the info we
tell them. If the person looks or acts like he is getting out of control we call the cops. I think
that is what the United Airlines employees did and it escalated to the shooting.
I just want to know how the guy got the cop's gun.

[saigon68]

22. They tend to be lax

When eating their donuts

[Haole Girl]

25. CNN - Man dies in airport shooting

Man dies in airport shooting

Officer critically wounded

Thursday, April 27, 2006; Posted: 1:29 p.m. EDT (17:29 GMT)

CLEVELAND, Ohio (AP) -- Police confronted a man at a Cleveland airport ticket counter Thursday and shots were fired as they struggled, critically wounding a patrolman and killing the man, authorities said.

The man grabbed one officer's gun and shot another officer twice in the chest, city Safety Director Martin Flask said.

The unidentified Cleveland man, who was shot by a third officer who intervened, died at a hospital, Flask said.

The shooting, shortly after 10 a.m., was in an area before security checkpoints. The airport remained open, said Fred Szabo, director of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport...

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/04/27/airport.shooting.ap/index.html

[Stand and Fight]

26. This ought o bare watching... n/t

[Radio_Lady]

27. Correct to: "This ought to bear watching..."

(unless he was naked...) :sarcasm:

Sad story, nevertheless...

[bumponalog]

28. or unless

you're going to watch naked.

Grammar nazis of the world, unite!

[unda cova brutha]

29. wanna bet the victim was a brown person?

probally just trying to get home and the cops had to hassle him.

[Jack The Tab]

31. Are you f***ing kidding me?

Who gives a shit if he was brown or blue - the guy shot a cop. Cops shot him. Anyone who fucks around with cops at an airport is just out of their mind anyway. Sounds like this guy had some altercation with them earlier as well. So please, let's not even start this trolling for racebaiting.

[unda cova brutha]

32. I didn't read the part about how he shot the cop.

[AndyTiedye]

30. Armed Policemen Must Be Trained To Stop Criminals From Taking Their Guns

I know they are, but one cop obviously got a bit rusty,
leading to the wounding of his partner, the death of
the suspect, and the endangering of everyone in the airport.

If we must have armed police, they must be well trained
both in using their firearms, and in preventing anyone else
from getting them and using them.

All of the security measures that are taken to keep deadly
weapons out of such places are for naught if the criminals
can just grab a gun off of a cop!

[Bushies gotta go]

40. I challenge you

to slap a gun on your belt and then get into a wrestling match with a lunatic. See how long you can keep that gun in the holster.





Until you've been there.....

[slackmaster]

33. Sounds like suicide by cop

Or the random flailing of a deranged person.

[OhioChick]

35. Update on Officer

Officer Shot At Airport Has Bullet Lodged In Back

UPDATED: 6:47 pm EDT April 27, 2006

CLEVELAND -- An officer injured in a shooting at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport Thursday has a bullet lodged in his back.

Doctors at MetroHealth Medical Center said a bullet went through the lung of Steve Walker, 56, and lodged in the muscle of his left back, near his spine. Police said Walker was shot while struggling with a man at the United Airlines ticket counter. The man grabbed his gun and shot him in the chest, safety director Martin Flask said.

Walker does have considerable bleeding from the gunshot, but his doctor said that the lung will often stop bleeding on its own. Tests are still being done to determine if he will need surgery. Doctors have no plans to remove the bullet. They said that is more dangerous than leaving it in.

Walker is in critical but stable condition.

http://www.newsnet5.com/news/9048592/detail.html

[Bushies gotta go]

37. Totally Disgusting

Usually on DU, I skip reading comments if the topic involves cops, a shooting, etc. Mostly because of the reaction from some of you. Your speculation and finger pointing really does a progressive movement justice. I find some of these comments on this topic totally disgusting and it is at this moment I have to even question why I personally want to come to a place that is no better than some of the immaturity of the freeper site.

Can you people who are ready to blame the cop, calling him an asshat or deserving of this step back a minute and listen?

There are valid purchasers of one way tickets. I fly my kids home on them all the time. But airline personnel are trained to identify potential problems, like somebody walking in with cash to buy a one way ticket. They also have a good idea what you average nutcase looks and acts like.

Let me ask you, if this were your plane, would you have wanted this guy to get on it? If he had managed to, and created a major incident, maybe a suicide/murder by pilot, how many of you that are bashing the airline or the shot cop would be screaming tonight about "how could they sell him a ticket?". I'd bet the bulk of you would.

I'm a retired cop and I understand that some cops aren't the greatest. But they put their pants on the same way you do. They have a family to go home to, just like you. And when called upon, they are the ones who come running. That doesn't mean they get to die un-mourned. That doesn't mean that everything they do should be scrutinized like * should. And that doesn't mean that they should have to prove themselves innocent while you pronounce them guilty about every little thing.

I spend a major amount of time as well as putting my reputation on the line trying to get fellow cops to try and think progressively, to try and look outside of their world at the bigger government picture. And I catch flack for it all the time. But, Jesus, your rantings every time there is a cop involved in something sure gives them as well as the freeper world a whole lot of ammunition.

And to the assbite that said the cops gun got taken because he was lax while he ate his donuts: I once had to fight a guy for 20 minutes by myself while he tried to take my weapon. I fought for my life with all I had. And nearly died in spite of giving it all I had. And I was not eating donuts.

Flame me if you have to. I just couldn't ignore this disgusting line of drivel.

(and kudos to those who are trying in this thread to bring sense to some of these people)

[Algorem]

39. people who knew him-he was paranoid & thought "Bush was mad at him"

-was on report on 11 PM Cleveland NBC station TV news (wkyc.com),friend said the guy wanted to borrow his phone because he didn't want to use his own phone because 'CIA and FBI were spying on him'.

ABC station says he had filed a police report saying he was always being followed and harrassed.Was an unemployed welder,lived with his fiance.Bought a ticket to Chicago,but was going to buy one to NYC,where he's from.

Also neighbors said he was friendly,one neighbor woman said he'd always wave at her and husband.Other neighbor said so too,said their kids played together.

Cleveland chief of police said in 3 PM news conference that the guy bit one officer on neck before he was killed.That was "the bystander who also got shot",I guess,-wasn't a bystander,was a cop,got bit on neck,not shot.

Officer who got shot was supposed to be wearing bullet-proof vest,but wasn't.

http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=51410&provider=top