US man hijacks small plane in Belize, stabs 3 people before he's shot dead
The man stabbed two passengers and a pilot, before one of the stabbed passengers fatally shot him, according to officials in Belize and the United States. The passenger was licensed to carry a firearm and later turned his weapon over to the police.
"We are praying for him," Chester Williams, Belize police commissioner, told reporters. "He's our hero."
Young American Tourists' Cause Of Death Revealed After They Were Found 'Motionless' At Beach Resort
Williams identified the hijacker as Akinyela Taylor and said he was a U.S. military veteran, a report by The Associated Press said. U.S. officials could not confirm the Belize police commissioner's statement that Taylor was a military veteran.
The air flight Cessna Caravan V3HIG from Corozal to San Pedro had 14 passengers and 2 crew members onboard, the statement from P.G.I.A. said.
Read On The Fox News App
A full emergency was declared immediately after the incident started and the aircraft circled in random directions for approximately two hours until finally landing safely at the P.G.I.A., according to a statement by the Belize Airport Concession Company.
Atlanta Bus Hijacking Suspect Had 19 Prior Arrests, Mental Illnesses, Family Says
U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said at a news briefing in Washington that officials were still gathering information about what occurred.
"Horrifying," she said. "We are grateful, I think all of us are, that it 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."
U.S. officials said they did not know the motive for Taylor's hijacking but were working with Belizean authorities to determine what happened.Original article source: US man hijacks small plane in Belize, stabs 3 people before he's shot dead
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
a few seconds ago
- Boston Globe
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and agent accused of sabotaging $240 million Hawaii real estate deal
Advertisement The suit accuses Ohtani and Balelo of tortious interference and unjust enrichment. Hayes, a developer with 40 years of experience, and Matsumoto, who was to be the listing agent for the houses averaging $17.3 million each, say that Ohtani and Balelo also tried to undermine their interests in a second, neighboring venture. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'This case is about abuse of power,' the lawsuit says. 'Defendants used threats and baseless legal claims to force a business partner to betray its contractual obligations and strip Plaintiffs of the very project they conceived and built. 'Defendants must be held accountable for their actions, not shielded by fame or behind-the-scenes agents acting with impunity. Plaintiffs bring this suit to expose Defendants' misconduct and to ensure that the rules of contract, fair dealing, and accountability apply equally to all — celebrity or not.' Advertisement A spokesman for Balelo's agency, CAA Baseball, declined comment. In a statement emailed to The Associated Press on Tuesday, Kingsbarn called the allegations 'completely frivolous and without merit.' 'Kingsbarn takes full responsibility for its actions regarding Kevin Hayes and for removing Tomoko Matsumoto as the project's broker,' the company said. Ohtani, 31, arrived from Japan in 2018 as perhaps the most heralded international star in baseball history, with an ability to both pitch and hit that made him doubly valuable to his team. A five-time All-Star and three-time Most Valuable Player, he signed a record 10-year, $700-million contract with the Dodgers before last season and helped the team win the 2024 World Series. Investment materials for The Vista at Mauna Kea Resort, which remained online on Monday night, listed Hayes and Matsumoto as part of the management team, along with Kingsbarn. It called Ohtani 'Japan's Babe Ruth' and the '1st Resident,' giving him top billing ahead of the iconic Mauna Kea Resort, 'one of the most celebrated hotels in Hawaii,' Hapuna Beach, 'rated the #1 beach in America by Conde Nast Traveler' and two golf courses – one designed by Arnold Palmer, the other by Robert Trent Jones Sr. 'Ohtani will act as the celebrity spokesperson for the project and has committed to purchasing one of the 14 residences within the project,' the brochure says. 'He also intends to spend significant time at The Vista in the off-season and will construct a small hitting and pitching facility for preseason training.' The suit says the developers spent 11 years working on the deal and 'as part of a bold marketing strategy' signed an endorsement deal in 2023 with Ohtani, 'one of the most high-profile endorsements imaginable.' Advertisement 'This partnership with Ohtani will elevate the demand and create buzz within the Japanese luxury vacation home market, which is a primary target audience for the project,' the investment brochure said. 'We see Shohei Ohtani's homeownership as having a significant impact on the global exposure of the project and expect to accelerate the pace of sales, thereby helping us achieve our pricing objectives.' The suit said Balelo 'quickly became a disruptive force,' threatening to pull Ohtani from the deal if concessions weren't made. 'Kingsbarn began capitulating to Balelo's every whim,' the suit said. 'Over time, it became increasingly obvious that Kingsbarn was more concerned about preserving its relationship with (Ohtani) than honoring its obligations to its business partners.' Last month, in what the suit called 'a coordinated ambush,' Kingsbarn fired Hayes and Matsumoto. 'Kingsbarn openly admitted during the call that Balelo had demanded the terminations and that they were being done solely to placate him,' the suit said. 'Plaintiffs stand to lose millions of dollars in compensation tied to projected homebuilding profit, construction management fees, and broker commissions.'
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US teen influencer pilot accused of unauthorized Antarctic landing reaches deal to leave Chile
A judge in Chile has agreed to suspend proceedings against a teenage American pilot and social media influencer who has been stuck on a remote Antarctic island since late June after he was accused of landing there without permission. Ethan Guo was attempting to fly to all seven continents solo, raising funds for cancer research, when he landed on a part of Antarctica where the South American country maintains a territorial claim. Prosecutors accused him of providing false information to ground control about his landing point. On Monday, a judge approved an agreement between Guo's lawyers and prosecutors to suspend the proceedings on the condition that he donate $30,000 to a children's cancer foundation within 30 days. He must also leave the country and will be prohibited from reentering Chilean territory for three years. Chilean prosecutor Cristián Crisosto told CNN on Tuesday that if Guo does not meet the conditions, the agreement would become void and the court proceedings would continue. CNN is attempting to reach Guo for comment. Crisosto said Guo and his plane were still in Antarctic territory and that he would also have to pay the costs of 'aircraft security and personal maintenance.' In previous cases, he said, such costs have been roughly $600 a day. Guo has several options to leave the Antarctic, Crisosto added, including boarding a military ship or commercial plane. The next commercial flight is expected to take off from the southern Chilean city of Punta Arenas in early October. Chilean authorities said that Guo had submitted a false flight plan and took off from Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Airport in Punta Arenas as the sole passenger and crew member aboard a Cessna 182Q aircraft, registered as N182WT, in late June. At one point during that flight, authorities say he turned off course toward Antarctica. Guo's lawyer has previously said that the young pilot experienced 'complications' while flying. 'While already in the air, he began to experience a series of complications,' Karina Ulloa said, adding that Guo claims 'that he was conducting an exploratory flight to see if he could follow this route or not.' Guo, whose website states he was trying to raise $1 million for cancer research by becoming 'the first person ever to fly to all seven continents solo,' had broadcast his continent-hopping journey since last September to more than a million Instagram followers. Solve the daily Crossword
Los Angeles Times
3 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Trial in National Guard lawsuit tests whether Trump will let courts limit authority
Minutes after Sec. of Defense Pete Hegseth trumpeted plans to 'flood' Washington with National Guard troops, a senior U.S. military official took the stand in federal court in California to defend the controversial deployment of soldiers to Los Angeles. The move during protests earlier this summer has since become the model for President Trump's increasing use of soldiers to police American streets. But the trial, which opened Monday in San Francisco, turns on the argument by California that Trump's troops have been illegally engaged in civilian law enforcement. 'The military in Southern California are so tied in with ICE and other law enforcement agencies that they are practically indistinguishable,' California Deputy Atty. Gen. Meghan Strong told the court Tuesday. 'Los Angeles is just the beginning,' the attorney went on. 'President Trump has hinted at sending troops even farther, naming Baltimore and even Oakland here in the Bay Area as his next potential targets.' Senior U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer said in court that Hegseth's statements Monday could tip the scales in favor of the state, which must show the law is likely to be violated again so long as troops remain. But the White House hasn't let the pending case stall its agenda. Nor have Trump officials been phased by a judge's order restricting so-called 'roving patrols' used by federal agents to indiscriminately sweep up suspected immigrants. After Border Patrol agents last week sprang from a Penske moving truck and snatched up workers at a Westlake Home Depot — appearing to openly defy the court's order — some attorneys warned the rule of law is crumbling in plain sight. 'It is just breathtaking,' said Mark Rosenbaum of Public Counsel, part of the coalition challenging the use of racial profiling by immigration enforcement. 'Somewhere there are Founding Fathers who are turning over in their graves.' The chaotic immigration arrests that swept through Los Angeles this summer had all but ceased following the original July 11 order, which bars agents from snatching people off the streets without first establishing reasonable suspicion that they are in the U.S. illegally. An Aug. 1 ruling in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals seemed to assure they could not resume again for weeks, if ever. For the punch-drunk Department of Justice, the 9th Circuit loss was the latest blow in a protracted judicial beatdown, as many of the administration's most aggressive moves have been held back by federal judges and tied up in appellate courts. '[Trump] is losing consistently in the lower courts, almost 9 times out of 10,' said Eric J. Segall, a professor at Georgia State University College of Law. In the last two weeks alone, the 9th Circuit also found Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship unconstitutional and signaled it would likely rule in favor of a group of University of California researchers hoping to claw back funding from Trump's war on so-called DEI policies. Elsewhere in the U.S., the D.C. Circuit court appeared poised to block Trump's tariffs, while a federal judge in Miami temporarily stopped construction at Alligator Alcatraz. California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta has crowed that his Department of Justice had sued the administration nearly 40 times. But even the breakneck pace of current litigation is glacial compared with the actions of immigration agents and federalized troops. Federal officials have publicly relished big-footing Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who have repeatedly warned the city is being used as a 'petri dish' for executive force. On Monday, the White House seemed to vindicate them by sending the National Guard to Washington. Speaking for more than half an hour, President Trump rattled off a list of American cities he characterized as under siege. When asked if he would deploy troops to those cities as well, the president said, 'We're just gonna see what happens.' 'We're going to look at New York. And if we need to, we're going to do the same thing in Chicago,' he said. 'Hopefully, L.A. is watching.' The Department of Justice argues that the same power that allows the president to federalize troops and deploy them on American streets also creates a 'Constitutional exception' to the Posse Comitatus Act, a 19th century law that bars the soldiers from civilian police action. California lawyers say no such exception exists. 'I'm looking at this case and trying to figure out, is there any limitation to the use of federal forces?' Judge Breyer said. Even if they keep taking losses, Trump administration officials 'don't have much to lose' by picking fights, said Ilya Somin, law professor at George Mason University and a Constitutional scholar at the Cato Institute. 'The base likes it,' Somin said of the Trump's most controversial moves. 'If they lose, they can consider whether they defy the court.' Other experts agreed. 'The bigger question is whether the courts can actually do anything to enforce the orders that they're making,' said David J. Bier of the Cato Institute. 'There's no indication to me that [Department of Homeland Security agents] are changing their behavior.' Some scholars speculated the lower court bloodbath might actually be a strategic sacrifice in the war to extend presidential power in the Supreme Court. 'It's not a strategy whose primary ambition is to win,' said Professor Mark Graber of the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law. 'They are losing cases right and left in the district court, but consistently having district court orders stayed in the Supreme Court.' Win or lose in the lower courts, the political allure of targeting California is potent, argued Segall, the law professor who studies the Supreme Court. 'There is an emotional hostility to California that people on the West Coast don't understand,' Segall said. ' deemed a separate country almost.' An favorable ruling in the Supreme Court could pave the way for deployments across the country, he and others warned. 'We don't want the military on America's streets, period full stop,' Segall said. 'I don't think martial law is off the table.' Pedro Vásquez Perdomo, a day laborer who is one of the plaintiffs on the Southern California case challenging racial profiling by immigration enforcement, has said the case is bigger than him. He squared up to the podium outside the American Civil Liberties Union's downtown offices Aug. 4, his voice trembling as he spoke about the temporary restraining order — upheld days earlier by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals — that stood between his fellow Angelenos and unchecked federal authority. 'I don't want silence to be my story,' the day-laborer said. 'I want justice for me and for every other person who's humanity has been denied.'
