Victim of 2002 LAX terror attack remembered

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- In the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX, passengers bustle under tight security, watched on camera and by armed officers. It's the new normal in the wake of the 9/11 attacks and the shooting that happened at the El Al Airline counter on July 4, 2002.

Vicky Hen, a ticket agent for the Israeli airline, was shot and killed, along with a traveler, 46-year-old Yaakov Aminov, a father of eight. Four others were wounded before an El Al air marshal shot 41-year-old Hesham Mohamed Hadayet, an Egyptian national living in Irvine.

An FBI investigation found that Hadayet's limo business was failing, his wife had left him, and July 4 was his birthday. Yet a year later, after an international investigation, the act was determined to fit the definition of terrorism. According to the FBI, Hadayet wanted to die as a martyr.

Today, Hen's family and their supporters believe there's a cover-up, and that the FBI knew more about Hadayet, but failed to act.

"The government, they knew about him, he's a terrorist guy, and they never stopped him," said Hen's father Avi Hen.

The FBI responded to the theories in a statement saying, "While other theories were considered and researched, the investigation did not reveal the involvement of a state-sponsored group or co-conspirators."

The finding distresses the mourners, who believe that people in Los Angeles are in denial about the terror threat.

"I lost my daughter, and for me, it is exactly like all the people in 9/11," Avi Hen said. "Nobody is safe here."

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los angeles international airport, airline, terrorism, shooting, los angeles news, miriam hernandez

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