A knife-wielding plane jacker has been shot dead after trying to hijack a Tropic Air plane in Belize. Akinyela Sawa Taylor, 49, went on a rampage, attacking people inside the San Pedro-bound flight at around 8.30am, triggering a state of emergency at the Philip SW Goldson International Airport.
Several people on board the plane suffered slash wounds before another passenger fired a fatal shot, killing him, according to Newsweek.
As the incident unfolded, the pilot of the Cessna Caravan V3HIG utility aircraft started circling the airport before finally landing at 10.12am. There had been concerns that the aircraft would not make it as it started running out of fuel while in the air. A police helicopter was up in the air following the plane before it finally touched down at an airport in Ladyville on the coast.
Three people were stabbed, including the pilot and a passenger who used a licensed firearm to shoot him dead.
Once back on the tarmac, emergency responders rushed to the scene and removed the suspect’s body, and assisted the injured after it came to a stop on the runway.
Chester Williams, the country’s Commissioner of Police, hailed the passenger who shot him as a “hero”.
Among the 14 passengers on board were two Americans and two members of flight crew. According to Mr Williams, Taylor was demanding the pilot flow him out of Belize, and at one point ordered the pilot landed the plane so it could be refuelled
Police are currently investigating how Taylor was able to bring a knife on to the plane. There is also mystery over how he could get into the country as he was denied entry just a few days earlier.
The wounded man who shot Taylor after sustaining a punctured lung during the hijacking was permitted to carry a firearm. After the incident, he handed the weapon back to police, according to Mr Williams. He is now in critical condition.
“We are praying for him,” Mr Williams told reporters. “He’s our hero.”
US state department spokesperson, Tammy Bruce, said at a news briefing in Washington that officials were still gathering information about the incident.
To help police in their investigation, the US Embassy in Belize has been tapped.
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