LAX shooting suspect makes brief court appearance

The motorcycle mechanic accused in a deadly shooting rampage at Los Angeles International Airport last month appeared at his first court hearing Wednesday with bruises on his face and a bandage on his neck.

Paul Ciancia, 23, is accused of killing a Transportation Security Administration security officer and wounding three other people at LAX's Terminal 3 on Nov. 1. Ciancia is charged with murder and other crimes. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

He did not enter a plea at the brief arraignment at the West Valley Detention Center, where he is being held.

A magistrate judge ordered him held without bond and set arraignment for Dec. 26 in federal district court in Los Angeles.

It was the first time Ciancia had been seen in public since the Nov. 1 attack at LAX's Terminal 3. He was shackled at his hands and feet.

Ciancia is accused of walking into the terminal, pulling out an assault rifle from a bag and opening fire at a screening checkpoint, according to airport Police Chief Patrick Gannon. Gannon said Ciancia kept moving, wounding two more TSA agents and a passenger. He was apprehended at a Burger King in the food court after being shot four times, including once in the mouth.

The dead TSA officer, Gerardo Hernandez, 39, was a behavior-detection officer tasked with spotting suspicious activity and identifying potential terrorists. Hernandez was the first TSA officer killed in the line of duty in the 12-year history of the agency, created after 9/11.

Hernandez, a native of El Salvador, was shot a dozen times.

Investigators recovered a rambling message from the bag they say Ciancia was carrying, which detailed an intent to kill TSA officers.

Contributing: AP