The gunman whose 2013 rampage at Los Angeles International Airport left a Transportation Security Administration officer dead and three other people injured was sentenced yesterday to life in prison for the premeditated attack in which he targeted federal officers, the Los Angeles Times reports. Paul Ciancia, 26, had pleaded guilty to murder and other charges earlier this year in a deal in which federal prosecutors withdrew their decision to seek the death penalty for the shootings at the airport’s bustling Terminal 3. “He didn’t win. He’s doing life in prison. …He’s not going to be able to hurt anyone else ever again,” said Tony Grigsby, one of the TSA officers shot by Ciancia.
Ciancia addressed the courtroom full of law enforcement officers, victims and family members of Gerardo Hernandez, the TSA agent who was killed. He gave an odd, mostly unapologetic account of the months leading up to the violence. He described wanting to commit suicide, but said he decided first to spend the remainder of his life savings, which amounted to $26,000. During this time, he said he became interested in the debate over gun control and concluded, “I need to get a gun.” Ciancia said he was harassed by Los Angeles police but gave no specifics, and he indicated that the harassment led him on a path toward violence. “I knew exactly how I was going to die. I was going to take up arms against my own government,” he said.