LAX shooting suspect sedated, unable to speak to investigators

LAX shooting suspect sedated, unable to speak to investigators, The man accused of engaging in a deadly shooting spree in Los Angeles International Airport remained sedated at a Los Angeles hospital, officials said.

Suspect Paul Ciancia, 23, was in critical condition and unable to speak with investigators late Sunday, CNN reported.

Ciancia is charged with murder of a federal officer and commission of violence in an international airport, arising from when he opened fire at a security checkpoint at LAX, killing Transportation Security Administration agent Gerardo Hernandez, and wounding two other TSA agents and at least one civilian. Hernandez was the first TSA agent to be killed in the line of duty since the agency was formed in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.

Ciancia, an unemployed motorcycle mechanic, was shot and wounded by officers after he sprayed Terminal 3 with bullets from a .223-caliber assault rifle he pulled from a bag that sent passengers fleeing for safety. He was shot in the head and a leg.

Federal prosecutors Saturday filed murder charges against Ciancia as they still worked to determine a motive.

The gunman was carrying a signed, handwritten note in his duffel bag that said he wanted to "instill fear into their traitorous minds," David Bowdich, special agent in charge of the Counter-terrorism Division in the FBI's Los Angeles office, told reporters Saturday. "His intent was very clear in his note. In that note he indicated his anger and his malice toward the TSA officers."

A TSA official Sunday said the wounded officers -- James Speer, 54, and Tony Grigsby, 36 -- were at home recovering from their wounds, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Operations at Los Angeles International Airport returned to normal Sunday. The incident temporarily halted traffic at the third-busiest airport in the United States, stranding thousands of passengers and forcing dozens of flights to be diverted.