Surveillance Video Shows Alpizar Hours Before Shooting

One passenger said he "absolutely never heard the word 'bomb' at all" during the uproar as the Orlando-bound flight prepared to leave Miami on Wednesday.

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Some passengers, including John McAlhany, said they believe Alpizar was no threat to anyone.

McAlhany, a 44-year-old construction worker who was returning home from a fishing trip in Key West, said he was sitting in Seat 21C when he noticed a commotion a few rows back.

"I heard him saying to his wife, 'I've got to get off the plane,'" McAlhany said. "He bumped me, bumped a couple of stewardesses. He just wanted to get off the plane."

Alpizar ran up the aisle into the first-class cabin, where marshals chased him onto the jetway, McAlhany said.

McAlhany said he "absolutely never heard the word 'bomb' at all."

"The first time I heard the word 'bomb' was when I was interviewed by the FBI," McAlhany said. "They kept asking if I heard him say the B-word. And I said, 'What is the B-word?' And they were like, 'Bomb.' I said no. They said, 'Are you sure?' And I am."

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/sns-ap-airplane-shooting,0,6946195.story?coll=orl-home-headlines

An August 2004 report by the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general found the program experienced several problems.

In 2002, flight marshals were cited for instances of improper flight conduct, lost or stolen equipment including weapons, failed training and sleeping on duty, according to the report.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-marshals1005dec10,0,1281026.story?page=2&coll=orl-home-headlines

The treatment of the plane’s passengers following the shooting was of a piece with the violence meted out to Alpizar. Armed federal marshals and police agents stormed the aircraft and ordered them to put their hands on their heads. Terrified passengers were told to remain motionless for more than an hour, and some reported having guns put to the backs of their heads.

After they were taken off the plane, with their hands still on their heads, they were questioned for hours by police officials, including officers from the Miami-Dade police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The last passenger was not released until nine hours after the event.

Despite the fact that no evidence had been found to indicate Alpizar’s actions had anything to do with terrorism, the passengers were grilled about whether they had heard him speak of a bomb. Anne Buechner, whose husband of 18 years had just been shot down in cold blood, was also questioned for hours before being released.

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It is significant that after nine hours of such questioning, no one has come forward to corroborate the Federal Air Marshal Service’s claim that Alpizar said he had a bomb. The obvious explanation is that the entire bomb threat story is a lie, most likely invented by the perpetrators immediately after the shooting to provide themselves with an alibi.

This lack of evidence, however, has not deterred the federal authorities and the Bush administration from praising the performance of the marshals. On the contrary, in the immediate aftermath of the state killing—and before any investigation into the incident—White House spokesman Scott McClellan commented, “These marshals appear to have acted in a way that’s consistent with the extensive training that they have received.”

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/dec2005/miam-d10.shtml

Eyewitnesses refute official story in fatal shooting of passenger at Miami airport

By Kate Randall
10 December 2005

The Orlando Sentinel interviewed seven passengers who said Alpizar was silent as he bolted past them. “One thought he had taken the wrong flight. Another thought he was going to throw up,” the Sentinel reported.

Jorge A. Borrelli, an Orlando architect, stated, “I can tell you, he never said a thing in that airplane. He never called out he had a bomb. He never said a word from the point he passed me at Row 9.... He did not say a word to anybody.”

Borrelli said that Alpizar’s wife tried to reach her husband: “She was saying, ‘My husband’s sick. He’s sick. He’s bipolar. He didn’t take his medicine. It was my fault. I made him get on the plane. You know, we just came from a medical mission. Oh, my God! They’ve killed my husband!’ ”

Jorge Figueroa, a power-plant operator seated a few rows behind first class, told the Sentinel, “He wasn’t saying anything; he was just running. I said to myself, ‘It is probably a person who took the wrong plane.’ ”

Two teenagers seated in Row 26 concurred that Alpizar had said nothing as he ran down the aisle.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/dec2005/miam-d10.shtml

See also:

Miami airplane shooting: Washington’s “war on terrorism” comes home

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/dec2005/shot-d09.shtml