TSA Report Recommends More Law Enforcement at Checkpoints

The TSA's review was conducted in the wake of a Nov. 1 shooting that left an officer dead at Los Angeles International Airport

The Transportation Security Administration is recommending that armed law enforcement be present at airport security checkpoints during peak hours after conducting a nationwide review in response to a shooting at Los Angeles International Airport last fall.

The TSA report is being released to Congress, which will consider the recommendations.

The recommendations come more than four months after a TSA officer was shot and killed when a gunman entered LAX Terminal 3 and opened fire. Two other TSA officers and an airport traveler were wounded in the Nov. 1 shooting rampage.

The shooting prompted the TSA to conduct its own review of security at nearly 450 airports nationwide.

Changes specific to LAX were recommended in a Los Angeles International Airport after-action report released earlier this month that was requested by the Aiport Commission. The report, which focused on the emegency response, cited weak links in emergency communications, problem involving care for travelers and training for employees.

That review was conducted by airport staff and an outside contractor included interviews with airport staff, law enforcement and first responders, reviews of camera footage, dispatch logs and 911 calls.

TSA officer Gerardo Hernandez, a father of two, was killed in the rampage.

The alleged gunman, 24-year-old Paul Ciancia, was shot and killed inside the terminal. He pleaded not guilty to 11 federal charges, including murder of a federal officer.

Ciancia left a note indicating he intended to kill TSA officers, authorities said.
 

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