Kraw
05-23-2002, 07:52 AM
this happened on my day off, so as usual, I missed all the activities.
I also heard on the radio this morning, that the guy said he never left home without his Qaran (that is the Muslim bible right?) and his shotgun.
Two injured when man opens fire at airport
He told police people were rude about his turban
05/23/02
By Stephanie Doster and Tara Young
Staff writers/The Times-Picayune
A former Marine from Pensacola, described as "eccentric" by his former attorney, told deputies he shot and wounded two people at Louis Armstrong International Airport on Wednesday because people made fun of his turban, police said.
Patrick Gott, 43, walked into the terminal, drew a 12-gauge shotgun out of his military-green duffel bag and fired one shot at 3:37 p.m. that critically injured a passenger and hit an airline employee in the hand.
A Southwest Airlines customer and a Southwest employee wrestled Gott to the ground as he was about to pump his shotgun to fire a second time, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Harry Lee said.
The wounded passenger, a 45-year-old woman from California, was in critical but stable condition at Kenner Regional Medical Center after surgery Wednesday night. She has several wounds from the single shotgun shell, a hospital spokesman said.
Deputies said the act does not appear to be terrorism and that Gott acted alone, but they are investigating with the help of the FBI, Kenner police and the Bureau of Tobacco, Alcohol and Firearms.
Gott told investigators he fired the shot because people had made rude comments about his turban, Lee said.
"That's his story," the sheriff said. "We don't know what his intention was."
Col. Robert Garner said Gott and his mother, also of Pensacola, Fla., drove to the airport to drop off a passenger. After that person got out of the car, Gott said he also wanted to get out and headed into the terminal with a duffel bag he always carries, Garner said.
He told police that once inside, he recognized people who had made fun of his turban earlier, Garner said. It is unclear when the taunting occurred, Garner said. Gott propped up his bag against a counter across from the Southwest and U.S. Airways ticket area, pulled a shotgun out of a 4-foot-long PVC tube wrapped in foam, crossed the terminal and fired, Lee said.
The blast sent employees and passengers scrambling for cover and staring in disbelief.
'I ducked and ran'
"I saw a very tall man with a something covering his head. I ducked and ran," said Mary Ann Rouanet, a U.S. Airways agent who was at the counter when the shot was fired. "I heard a loud boom. I didn't know if it was a shotgun or a bomb. We didn't know if it was just one guy or lots of guys."
Gott did not know either victim, Lee said.
Gott, wearing a floral-print shirt, shorts and black flip-flops, stared at the ground in silence as police escorted him out of the airport. He was booked on two counts of attempted murder and illegal carrying of a firearm. A bond hearing will be held this morning. He also could face federal charges, Garner said.
Garner said Gott cooperated with police, but expressed no remorse.
Gott was carrying a copy of the Quran, and had several more shotgun shells in his pocket, police said. He told police he is a Muslim who recites the Quran daily, Garner said.
Lee said several witnesses reported that Gott invoked the name of Allah before the shooting. Darrin Whiteside of Dallas said he thought Gott had said, "All right."
"It felt like kids' play at first, and then you see a big guy with a turban trying to unload," said Whiteside, who said he has survived a lightning strike and an earthquake.
"I just thank God I wasn't in the same spot," said Kathryn Walker of New Orleans, who had just dropped off an employment application at the U.S. Airways ticket counter when she heard a pop.
Happy-go-lucky guy
Philip L. Fairbanks, a bankruptcy attorney in Beaufort, S.C., who represented Gott in a bankruptcy case in 1998 when Gott lived in South Carolina, said his client never mentioned an interest in the Quran and he never saw Gott wear a turban in Beaufort.
"Religious fanaticism is certainly nothing that I would have associated with him," Fairbanks said. Gott was a single, happy-go-lucky guy, he said.
"He didn't seem despondent," Fairbanks said. "Your average bankruptcy client is your guy and his wife who have a couple of kids."
In Beaufort, a small, historic town about 30 minutes outside of Hilton Head, Gott, a large man, scooted around the community on a moped, Fairbanks said.
Gott once worked as a carpenter and seriously injured himself when he fell through the floor of a house under construction. Out of work and hurt, his bills began to pile up, Fairbanks said.
"The bankruptcy was the result of it," Fairbanks said.
Gott, with the help of Fairbanks, filed for bankruptcy on April 20, 1998. It took a couple more months to have his debts discharged, the attorney said.
One of the more interesting debts involved an irate dentist who did not receive payment for the gold tooth he placed in Gott's mouth, Fairbanks said.
"He was not your typical Joe, straight-arrow type," Fairbanks said of Gott. "He was a bit eccentric. But he was always perfectly capable of dealing with me. He seemed to be pretty well in touch with reality."
No criminal record
Records show that after filing for bankruptcy, Gott left Beaufort for Las Vegas and later moved to Kailua, Hawaii, where he remained until he moved to Pensacola last year.
Garner said Gott has no criminal record.
The shooting caused minor delays for Southwest and U.S. Airways passengers, who formed a long curbside check-in line outside the airport. Elsewhere in the terminal, travelers were not affected, airport spokeswoman Michelle Duffourc said.
After pausing for about 15 minutes after the shooting, airline employees "found ways to work around the situation," she said. But workers and passengers were still shaken.
"The first thing you think of is, ‘What's happening now?" said Paul Garcia of Hattiesburg who arrived at the airport minutes after the shooting to pick up a friend.
"I think it just shows us that the precautions we're taking need to be re-evaluated and possibly expanded," Garcia said. "Now it's to the point where they're going to have to check you at the door."
I also heard on the radio this morning, that the guy said he never left home without his Qaran (that is the Muslim bible right?) and his shotgun.
Two injured when man opens fire at airport
He told police people were rude about his turban
05/23/02
By Stephanie Doster and Tara Young
Staff writers/The Times-Picayune
A former Marine from Pensacola, described as "eccentric" by his former attorney, told deputies he shot and wounded two people at Louis Armstrong International Airport on Wednesday because people made fun of his turban, police said.
Patrick Gott, 43, walked into the terminal, drew a 12-gauge shotgun out of his military-green duffel bag and fired one shot at 3:37 p.m. that critically injured a passenger and hit an airline employee in the hand.
A Southwest Airlines customer and a Southwest employee wrestled Gott to the ground as he was about to pump his shotgun to fire a second time, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Harry Lee said.
The wounded passenger, a 45-year-old woman from California, was in critical but stable condition at Kenner Regional Medical Center after surgery Wednesday night. She has several wounds from the single shotgun shell, a hospital spokesman said.
Deputies said the act does not appear to be terrorism and that Gott acted alone, but they are investigating with the help of the FBI, Kenner police and the Bureau of Tobacco, Alcohol and Firearms.
Gott told investigators he fired the shot because people had made rude comments about his turban, Lee said.
"That's his story," the sheriff said. "We don't know what his intention was."
Col. Robert Garner said Gott and his mother, also of Pensacola, Fla., drove to the airport to drop off a passenger. After that person got out of the car, Gott said he also wanted to get out and headed into the terminal with a duffel bag he always carries, Garner said.
He told police that once inside, he recognized people who had made fun of his turban earlier, Garner said. It is unclear when the taunting occurred, Garner said. Gott propped up his bag against a counter across from the Southwest and U.S. Airways ticket area, pulled a shotgun out of a 4-foot-long PVC tube wrapped in foam, crossed the terminal and fired, Lee said.
The blast sent employees and passengers scrambling for cover and staring in disbelief.
'I ducked and ran'
"I saw a very tall man with a something covering his head. I ducked and ran," said Mary Ann Rouanet, a U.S. Airways agent who was at the counter when the shot was fired. "I heard a loud boom. I didn't know if it was a shotgun or a bomb. We didn't know if it was just one guy or lots of guys."
Gott did not know either victim, Lee said.
Gott, wearing a floral-print shirt, shorts and black flip-flops, stared at the ground in silence as police escorted him out of the airport. He was booked on two counts of attempted murder and illegal carrying of a firearm. A bond hearing will be held this morning. He also could face federal charges, Garner said.
Garner said Gott cooperated with police, but expressed no remorse.
Gott was carrying a copy of the Quran, and had several more shotgun shells in his pocket, police said. He told police he is a Muslim who recites the Quran daily, Garner said.
Lee said several witnesses reported that Gott invoked the name of Allah before the shooting. Darrin Whiteside of Dallas said he thought Gott had said, "All right."
"It felt like kids' play at first, and then you see a big guy with a turban trying to unload," said Whiteside, who said he has survived a lightning strike and an earthquake.
"I just thank God I wasn't in the same spot," said Kathryn Walker of New Orleans, who had just dropped off an employment application at the U.S. Airways ticket counter when she heard a pop.
Happy-go-lucky guy
Philip L. Fairbanks, a bankruptcy attorney in Beaufort, S.C., who represented Gott in a bankruptcy case in 1998 when Gott lived in South Carolina, said his client never mentioned an interest in the Quran and he never saw Gott wear a turban in Beaufort.
"Religious fanaticism is certainly nothing that I would have associated with him," Fairbanks said. Gott was a single, happy-go-lucky guy, he said.
"He didn't seem despondent," Fairbanks said. "Your average bankruptcy client is your guy and his wife who have a couple of kids."
In Beaufort, a small, historic town about 30 minutes outside of Hilton Head, Gott, a large man, scooted around the community on a moped, Fairbanks said.
Gott once worked as a carpenter and seriously injured himself when he fell through the floor of a house under construction. Out of work and hurt, his bills began to pile up, Fairbanks said.
"The bankruptcy was the result of it," Fairbanks said.
Gott, with the help of Fairbanks, filed for bankruptcy on April 20, 1998. It took a couple more months to have his debts discharged, the attorney said.
One of the more interesting debts involved an irate dentist who did not receive payment for the gold tooth he placed in Gott's mouth, Fairbanks said.
"He was not your typical Joe, straight-arrow type," Fairbanks said of Gott. "He was a bit eccentric. But he was always perfectly capable of dealing with me. He seemed to be pretty well in touch with reality."
No criminal record
Records show that after filing for bankruptcy, Gott left Beaufort for Las Vegas and later moved to Kailua, Hawaii, where he remained until he moved to Pensacola last year.
Garner said Gott has no criminal record.
The shooting caused minor delays for Southwest and U.S. Airways passengers, who formed a long curbside check-in line outside the airport. Elsewhere in the terminal, travelers were not affected, airport spokeswoman Michelle Duffourc said.
After pausing for about 15 minutes after the shooting, airline employees "found ways to work around the situation," she said. But workers and passengers were still shaken.
"The first thing you think of is, ‘What's happening now?" said Paul Garcia of Hattiesburg who arrived at the airport minutes after the shooting to pick up a friend.
"I think it just shows us that the precautions we're taking need to be re-evaluated and possibly expanded," Garcia said. "Now it's to the point where they're going to have to check you at the door."