Michael Hayden, Ex-NSA Chief, Not Shot at LAX; Victim of Hoax

Michael Hayden, the former NSA chief, was likely not shot at the Los Angeles Airport on Friday. That report appears to be a hoax perpetuated on Twitter.
Michael Hayden, Ex-NSA Chief, Not Shot at LAX; Victim of Hoax
The editor of a Wikipedia page for Michael Hayden appears to have been fooled by the rumors that he was shot on Friday.
Jack Phillips
11/1/2013
Updated:
7/18/2015

Michael Hayden, the former NSA chief and four-star Air Force general, was not shot at the Los Angeles Airport on Friday. That report appears to be a hoax perpetuated on Twitter. The hoax also claimed that a “radical Christian group” claimed responsibility. 

The Globe and Mail, a Canadian newspaper, apparently fell for the hoax, reported Gawker.com.

It appears that the report of Hayden’s death came from a false Twitter account, but some media entities retweeted it.

“Folks, the reports Michael Hayden was shot at #LAX are from a fake twitter account. Disregard,” said one user.

A website called Valuewalk.com has a headline which reads “LAX: Ex-NSA Chief Michael Hayden Shot Dead At LA Airport [REPORT],” which was circulated on Twitter.

Hayden was the director of the NSA from 1999 until 2005.

The WikiPedia page for Hayden shows that he lived and died from “March 17, 1945 - November 1, 2013,” suggesting the editor of the page was duped by the hoax.

The Los Angeles Times said that a TSA worker was shot and killed in the incident at the airport’s Terminal 3, which was later evacuated.

The gunman was later arrested and early reports said that he was shot.

“I heard popping and everybody dropped to the ground,” passenger Robert Perez said.

Tory Belleci and Grant Imahara, the stars of “Mythbusters,” were also at the Los Angeles International Airport when a shooting took place.

“Heard gun shots then everyone starting running for the door. Not sure if anyone was hurt,” Belleci wrote on Twitter.

Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
twitter
Related Topics