November 3, 2013
St Mary’s Catholic College principal Michael Nayler and his wife Mary were caught up in yesterday’s wild shootout at Los Angeles Airport where one man was killed and up to eight people wounded.
They were forced to take cover under a table in a restaurant when the gunfire erupted nearby.
The couple, who are holidaying in the United States, were shaken but not harmed but have been left stranded for the moment in just the clothes they are wearing as they became separated from their baggage after the incident.
“My wife, Mary and I arrived at Terminal 3 at about 8:30am on Friday (local time) to catch a 10:40am Virgin Ameica flight to New York, so that she could run in the NY marathon on Sunday,” Michael told southburnett.com.au this morning.
“We checked in and proceeded through the security checkpoint around 8:50 am and moved into the small 5-6 gated terminal.
“After a look at the three eateries we decided to have breakfast in the one closest to the runway.
“We had just ordered our breakfast when at about 9:20am the gunman came through the security checkpoint we had been through a couple of hundred metres further down the terminal.
“Our first inkling that something was wrong was when a stream of frightened people came running into our restaurant. Next we heard a series of gunshots as the gunman opened fire near the checkpoint.
“They were not the gunshots that you hear in movies, but a series of loud, dull pops. The fear in the restaurant was absolutely palpable as people raced to the back of the restaurant and into the kitchen and store rooms.
“Quick thinking restaurant staff asked everyone to take cover or move into back rooms. The restaurant staff also decided to close the steel security doors as Mary and I took cover under our table.
“Shortly after, a short series of gunshots rang out very close to our restaurant which I presume was the exchange between the airport police and gunman.
“We remained under tables for about an hour.
“Slowly as news reports of the incident and the capture of the gunman began to appear on the TV screens in the restaurant, people carefully came out from their cover.
“Despite news reports stating that all passengers were outside, around 80 people remained in the restaurant with us until heavily armed police and SWAT teams arrived an hour or so after the incident.
“When we were eventually escorted out into the terminal, there were still bags strewn on the ground left by fleeing passengers. One of the policemen said that the gunman had been confronted and shot about 50m from our restaurant near a Burger King outlet.
“Over the next hour or two, the people from our restaurant and a couple of hundred other passengers who had hidden in the terminal were evacuated in groups of 20 by heavily armed police.
“Mary and I were in the last group to be evacuated from Terminal 3 to the nearby international terminal.
“We were held in the international terminal for a further couple of hours whilst FBI and Homeland Security officers interviewed anyone who had witnessed the shootings.
“As we waited in the international airport, we heard many harrowing tales from people around us who had seen the gunman and had run or hid in fear of their lives.
“One man, a professional musician. was near the security counter where the man first began firing. He dropped his expensive brass instrument and ran and dived over the nearest countertop he could find. His instrument was still locked down in the terminal.
“Eight hours after the initial incident, we were escorted by police to the international airport to meet with Virgin America staff who could only provide a contact number for changing reservations and sorting out baggage.
“Our baggage was already loaded onto our plane, and other people’s cabin bags were still strewn around what was now a crime scene and ‘no go’zone.
“After leaving the airport, I spent four hours and made five phone calls to Virgin America’s helpline only to eventually be given another number to ring to enquire about our bags which as far as we know are still in our plane at LA airport.
“Thanks to a travel agent, we managed to get a Delta flight to New York this morning and will have to race across New York to collect Mary’s race pack if she is to run tomorrow.
“We still have no bags, just the clothes we are wearing for a second day, but we are both very grateful to be alive. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those who were killed and injured and their families.”
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US authorities have identified the gunman as Paul Anthony Ciancia, 23, who reportedly had a grudge against the TSA, the agency responsible for airport security which was created in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorism attacks.
Cianca, who was carrying an assault rifle, was shot and wounded by police in an exchange of gunfire at Terminal 3 after he fatally shot TSA officer Gerardo Hernandez, 39.
Reports have indicated up to seven people, including other TSA officers, were also wounded.
UPDATE from Mr Nayler this afternoon: “We made it to NY and picked up Mary’s marathon pack with one hour to spare. Still no word on bags from Virgin America”
(Photo: Michael Nayler)
