Coroner: TSA Agent Shot 12 Times During LAX Rampage

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The Los Angeles County coroner's office Friday released its final report for Gerardo Hernandez, the TSA agent who was killed during a shooting rampage at Los Angeles International Airport earlier this month.

The autopsy report shows that 39-year-old Hernandez was shot 12 times after the suspected lone gunman, Paul Ciancia, walked into Terminal 3 and allegedly opened fire.

"The coroner was able to isolate 12 separate wounds in Mr. Hernandez and that is the cause of death," Chief Coroner's Investigator Craig Harvey told KNX 1070's Vytas Safroncikas.

According to the report, Hernandez sustained one gunshot wound to his right arm; six to his right lower back and buttocks; four to his right hip area, and a gunshot wound to his right lateral and anterior hip.

"There is a severe wound to [Hernandez's] abdominal aorta and that was the wound that is considered to be most fatal, if you will," Harvey said. "[That wound] made it almost impossible save his life because of the rapid loss of blood."

Also revealed in the report was the fact that one of the bullets severed his spinal cord, according to KCAL9's Randy Paige.

Hernandez was transported to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center by ground ambulance.

Upon arrival, he was in full cardiac arrest and received a blood transfusion, according to the report. Hernandez was pronounced dead at 11 a.m. on Nov. 1, despite efforts to save his life.

Earlier this week, the coroner revealed that Hernandez had died within two to five minutes after he was shot.

"The estimation by the chief medical examiner was that he probably would have died within two to five minutes. And there's not a lot that paramedics could have done to stabilize that wound to get him to an ER that could have done anything else for Mr. Hernandez," Harvey said.

The findings negated a widely reported story by the Associated Press, which said he had been alive for nearly 30 minutes but was denied care.

The autopsy report also revealed new details about the suspected gunman, alleging that he was carrying a plane ticket when he was apprehended. Among his possession, police reportedly also found a note that read, "[Expletive] the Police and the TSA."

Ciancia, 23, has since been charged with murder. He remains in federal custody at an undisclosed medical facility.

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