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LAX shooting suspect could get death penalty

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  • ASSOCIATED PRESS
    FILE-This undated file photo provided by the FBI shows Paul Ciancia, 23. Officials said Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2013 that Ciancia, charged in a deadly shooting rampage at Los Angeles International Airport, is out of a hospital and in federal custody. (AP Photo/FBI,File)

LOS ANGELES >> A federal grand jury indicted a man Tuesday on a first-degree murder charge and 10 other felonies in a deadly Nov. 1 shooting spree at the Los Angeles International Airport.

The indictment in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles accuses Paul Anthony Ciancia of killing Transportation Security Administration Officer Gerardo Hernandez “willfully, deliberately, maliciously, and with premeditation and malice aforethought” and targeting two other TSA officers.

The indictment says Ciancia, 23, “committed the offense after substantial planning and premeditation to cause the death of a person and to commit an act of terrorism.”

If convicted, he could face the death penalty.

Ciancia is charged with attempted murder in the shooting of officers Tony Leroy Grigsby and James Maurice Speer. He’s also charged with committing acts of violence against people at an international airport, including a passenger, teacher Brian Donovan Ludmer, who was also wounded and underwent surgery for his injuries.

Investigators say Ciancia had a vendetta against the federal government and targeted TSA officers when he pulled a semi-automatic rifle from a bag and started shooting. Ciancia was wounded by airport police as passengers scrambled to safety.

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