A US military vet hijacked a plane in Belize, officials say. He was shot dead after stabbing 3.
A U.S. citizen was shot and killed Thursday after hijacking a small airplane in Belize at knifepoint and stabbing three people on board, officials in Belize and the U.S. confirmed.
The man brandished a knife while the Tropic Air plane was airborne while demanding that the pilots take him out of the country, Police Commissioner Chester Williams told journalists, according to Reuters. The man was identified Thursday as Akinyela Sawa Taylor, a U.S. citizen and military veteran, Williams added.
Taylor stabbed three people during the hijacking, including the pilot and a passenger who fatally shot him with a licensed firearm. The pilot eventually managed to land the airplane outside Belize City after being forced to circle the airspace between northern Belize and the capital.
In a statement, Tropic Air Belize CEO Maximillian Greif called the pilot's actions "nothing short of heroic."
"In the face of incomprehensible pressure, our pilot acted with extraordinary courage and calm, guiding the aircraft to a safe landing," Greif said.
The airplane, which had only 14 passengers on board, had been due to fly the short route from Corozal near the Mexican border to San Pedro, a popular tourist destination off the coast. By the time it made an emergency landing, the aircraft had begun to run dangerously low on fuel, Williams told reporters.
Both Taylor and the three he stabbed were rushed to a hospital upon landing, where Taylor later died. The passenger who shot him was stabbed in the back and lungs and remains in critical condition, according to CBS News.
Taylor had been denied entry to the country over the weekend and it was unclear how he reached Corozal, according to police. Investigators were also not immediately aware of how Taylor was able to board the airplane with a knife, though Williams acknowledged that the country's smaller airstrips lacked security to fully search passengers.
U.S. officials said they did not know the motive for Taylor's hijacking but were working with Belizean authorities to determine what happened.
Luke Martin, public affairs officer for the U.S. embassy in Belize, told journalists that it had no details on Taylor's background or motivation so far.
According to information released by the airport, Taylor was a teacher in the United States.
Contributing: Reuters
Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US man shot, killed after hijacking plane in Belize, officials say
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