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LAX Observes Moment Of Silence For Slain TSA Officer

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A moment of silence was observed at Los Angeles International Airport Tuesday, marking the third anniversary of the shooting death of a Transportation Security Administration officer.

The silent salute to TSA Officer Gerardo Hernandez was held at 9:20 a.m., according to airport police.

On Nov. 1, 2013, gunman Paul Ciancia, 26, walked into Terminal 3 at LAX and used a semiautomatic rifle to shoot Hernandez at a passenger ID checkpoint.

Paul Ciancia

When Ciancia noticed Hernandez was still moving, he went back and shot the officer 12 more times.

He then headed into the terminal, carrying a two-page handwritten note explaining he wanted to kill TSA agents and "instill fear in your traitorous minds."

Witnesses to the deadly shooting said Ciancia asked them whether they worked for the TSA. If they said no, he moved on.

Ciancia -- an unemployed motorcycle mechanic who had been living in the Sun Valley area of Los Angeles for about 18 months -- was shot in the neck and leg during a gun battle with airport police.

He spent two weeks recovering at a hospital before he was transferred to a federal detention center in downtown Los Angeles, where he remains in custody.

A preliminary investigation revealed Ciancia purchased his weapon almost seven months prior to the attack.

He concealed it on the day of the shooting by tying two pieces of luggage together to create a carrying case, according to court records.

On Sept. 6, Ciancia pleaded guilty to 11 felony counts of murder and other charges.

While the result of a plea agreement will spare him the death penalty, federal prosecutors have requested for U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez to impose a life sentence for the murder of Hernandez, plus an additional 60 years for shooting and wounding TSA Officers Tony Grigsby and James Speer.

A sentencing hearing has been scheduled on Nov. 7 for New Jersey native, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

(©2016 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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