By Robert Salonga
DAILY BRUIN SENIOR STAFF
[email protected]
 The Associated Press
Police close the sidewalk to travelers at the Los Angeles
International Airport on July 4 after a gunman killed two persons
and was later killed at Israel’s El Al Airlines ticket
counter, in the Tom Bradley International Terminal.
In the aftermath of the July 4 shooting at Los Angeles
International Airport that left three dead, many airport passengers
and UCLA students don’t plan on changing their travel
patterns.
“If things are going to happen, they’re going to
happen,” said computer science graduate student Michael Pan,
adding that he plans to fly three times in the next month.
Egyptian immigrant Hesham Mohamed Hadayet opened fire on the
Israeli-run El Al airline ticket counter on July 4, killing ticket
agent Victoria Hen and diamond importer Yaakov Aminov before being
shot and killed by airline security guards.
In response, officials for the newly-formed Transportation
Security Agency announced plans to extend airport security to the
ticket counters and lobbies.
Some students said extra security might not eliminate every risk
at the airport but should be implemented nonetheless.
“You can’t prevent every incident,” said
fifth-year microbiology student Keaton Hanselman. “But
it’s necessary.”
Other travelers felt that the shooting was a one-time incident
with no terrorist implications, and increased security beyond
already high post-Sept. 11 levels is not needed.
“There’s enough security,” said Dominik
Frischknechte, a visiting student from Switzerland. “(The
shooting) could have been anywhere.”
The El Al ticket counter was closed on Friday and Saturday as
usual in observance of Jewish Sabbath. Bouquets of flowers lined
the counter to honor those killed in the shooting.
The Bradley terminal seemed like business as usual on Saturday
afternoon, with passengers lining up for routine security checks
and impatient children playing on the terminal floor.
But increased patrols were prevalent throughout the terminal,
and clusters of police vehicles were clearly visible outside the
arrival area, downstairs from the ticketing lobbies.
Later that afternoon an unattended bag prompted an hour-long
evacuation of 700 people from the terminal. The bag turned out to
contain a broken bottle of vodka inside a case with the words
“hunting rifle” printed on it, according to police.
Still, other travelers argue that since the shooting happened
before the terminal security gates, a ticket counter should receive
no more priority than any other public area.
“I don’t know how secure you want to be,” said
real estate agent Bill Belloni, who flew in from New Zealand via
Lufthansa Airlines, which operates adjacent to El Al.
“There’s no absolute way to keep terrorism
away,” he added.
The FBI, which is investigating the shooting incident, is
currently determining Hadayet’s motive and has not ruled out
terrorism, along with personal and business motives.
FBI special agent Richard Garcia said it wasn’t known if
Hadayet harbored anti-Israel feelings, as a former employee of his
claimed he did, and may have been motivated by hate.
With reports from Amanda Schapel, Daily Bruin Senior Staff, and
The Associated Press.