LOS ANGELES
A federal judge on Monday sentenced a Sun Valley, California man to life plus 60 years after he admitted murdering a 
Transportation Security Administration officer during a 2013 murder spree at Los Angeles International Airport, according to officials.
Paul Anthony Ciancia, 26, plead guilty to first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of TSA Officer Gerardo Hernandez on November 1, 2013.
U.S. District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez also sentenced Ciancia for a host of other criminal charges, officials said.
“The crimes that led to today’s sentence were vicious, horrific and senseless,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “After planning a mass murder, this defendant murdered a highly respected law enforcement officer, seriously wounded two other federal officers and a civilian, and terrified hundreds of people who feared for their lives. Those who target law enforcement and our nation’s critical infrastructure will be held accountable. As a result of today’s sentence, Mr. Ciancia will never again have a chance to harm other innocent people.”
According to court documents, in early 2013, Ciancia purchased a semiautomatic rifle, 500 rounds of ammunition and 10 magazines for the rifle. On the morning of November 1, 2013, Ciancia modified two pieces of luggage and zip-tied them together to conceal his loaded rifle.
Later that morning, Ciancia entered Terminal Three at LAX, removed the loaded rifle from his modified luggage and fired at and killed Officer Hernandez, who was checking passengers’ travel documents as part of his duties as a TSA Officer.
Ciancia admitted that he then went upstairs to a TSA checkpoint, where he fired his weapon at TSA Officers Tony Leroy Grigsby and James Maurice Speer, as well at a civilian, Brian Ludmer. These three victims sustained serious injuries and required surgery, but they survived the attack.
“The defendant will spend the rest of his life behind bars for targeting airport officers with premeditated murder, but a just sentence cannot replace the loss of Officer Hernandez, nor remove the suffering of his victims, and his victims’ families, friends and colleagues,” said Deirdre Fike, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The collaborative efforts by first responders and investigators on the day of the shooting and thoughout this investigation are commendable and aided prosecutors in ensuring that Mr. Ciancia can never again pose a threat.”
Two months ago, Ciancia pleaded guilty to one count of murder of a federal officer; two counts of attempted murder of a federal officer; four counts of violence at an international airport; one count of discharging of a firearm during a crime of violence causing death; and three counts of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.
**** This case is the product of an investigation by members of the Los Angeles Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), which is led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and includes agents and officers from 45 other local, state and federal agencies.
The following agencies provided considerable assistance during the investigation: the Los Angeles Airport Police; the Los Angeles Police Department; the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department; the Transportation Security Administration; the Federal Air Marshal Service; the Los Angeles Port Police; the Long Beach Police Department; the Air Force Office of Special Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; the United States Secret Service; the Los Angeles Fire Department; Los Angeles International Airport Operations; the United States Marshals Service; the United States Postal Inspection Service; and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.