Knife-wielding US citizen shot useless after hijacking small airplane in Belize | EUROtoday

A knife-wielding US citizen went on a stabbing spree after hijacking a small airplane in Belize, earlier than being shot useless by one of many injured passengers, police mentioned.

The hijacker has been recognized as Akinyela Sawa Taylor, a 49-year-old army veteran, mentioned Belize police commissioner Chester Williams.

The man was aboard a Tropic Air airplane carrying 14 passengers and two crew members, en route from Corozal, a small city close to Belize’s border with Mexico, to the favored vacationer vacation spot of San Pedro.

The airplane flew in erratic circles within the airspace between northern Belize and the capital, Belize City, for almost two hours because the mid-air drama unfolded. A police helicopter tailed the plane earlier than it will definitely landed at an airport within the coastal city of Ladyville.

The hijacker stabbed three folks on board, together with the pilot and a passenger who shot Taylor with a licensed firearm because the airplane landed outdoors Belize City, police mentioned. Upon touchdown, the injured pilot, passengers, and Taylor had been rushed to the hospital, however the hijacker succumbed to his gunshot wounds.

Belizean authorities declared a full emergency shortly after the incident started, round 8.30am native time, based on an announcement from the Belize Airport Concession Company.

The police commissioner mentioned it was unclear how Taylor managed to board the airplane with a knife, acknowledging that the nation’s smaller airstrips lack correct safety measures.

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Taylor was reportedly denied entry into the nation over the weekend. Police commissioner, Mr Williams, mentioned Taylor was demanding to be flown out of Belize, presumably to Mexico, and at one level requested for the airplane to land so it might be refuelled.

The stabbed passenger who managed to shoot Taylor had a licence to hold a firearm and later handed the weapon over to police, Mr Williams mentioned. The passenger was stabbed within the again and sustained a punctured lung. He stays in vital situation.

“We are praying for him,” Mr Williams advised reporters. “He’s our hero.”

US state division spokesperson, Tammy Bruce, mentioned at a information briefing in Washington that officers had been nonetheless gathering details about the incident.

“Horrifying,” she mentioned. “We are grateful, I think all of us are, that that did not turn into a mass casualty event with, I believe, over a dozen people on the plane. Clearly we know a few details. We don’t know much more.”

Luke Martin, a US embassy spokesperson in Belize, mentioned Taylor additionally insisted that he be taken to the US. “We don’t know why he wanted to go back to the United States.”

The airline, in an announcement, mentioned within the face of incomprehensible stress, “our pilot acted with extraordinary courage and calm, guiding the aircraft to a safe landing”.

“His actions were nothing short of heroic.”