Airport security checkpoints ground to a halt on Friday as the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) held a moment of silence in honor of its employee that was killed in a shooting at the Los Angeles International Airport.
The TSA held a simultaneous moment of silence at airports across the country at 9:20 a.m. Pacific Time, which is the exact time 39-year-old Gerardo Hernandez was killed last Friday as the Los Angeles Airport.
Hernandez was shot by a rifle-wielding gunman who opened fire at the TSA’s checkpoint at the Los Angeles airport.
{mosads}TSA officials have said Hernandez is the agency’s first employee to be killed in the line of duty. The agency said a public memorial service would be held for Hernandez next Tuesday at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.
The LAX shooter, who was believed to be targeting TSA employees, killed Hernandez and injured two of the agency’s other workers.
The Los Angeles shooting has prompted calls from some TSA supporters to allow some of the agency’s workers to carry guns.