title: False Alarm or Psy-Op? LAX ‘Active Shooter’ Spectacle, JFK Airport Panic & Staged Propaganda
text: Shawn Helton 21st Century WireAnother active-shooter  false alarm  made the headlines this past week, as war propaganda images continue be dispensed by Western media   multiple narratives that have contributed to an environment of confusion, fear and uncertainty in the War On Terror era.The timing of these current events cannot be overstated, revealing a deeper social engineering agenda at play underneath the larger geopolitical drama unfolding worldwide   PULP FICTION    Photo illustration 21WIRE s Shawn Helton The Nonexistent Shooter &  Loud Noises This past weekend, according reports, another  active shooter  scenario played out at LAX International Airport, a story which dovetailed an alleged active-shooter hoax at JFK International Airport earlier in August. CBS s Los Angeles affiliate CBSLA, described the latest incident at LAX in the following passage: The LAX Airport Police Department on Sunday discounted reports of a shooter at the airport saying loud noises apparently set off a panic. Several terminals were evacuated. Many people went on social media to say they were standing on the tarmac surrounded by tons of police.The incident was first reported just after 8:30 p.m.The LA Airport PD cannot confirm an active shooter was ever identified. The CBS article continued by discussing eyewitness accounts of the alleged active shooter event at LAX, as well as JFK airport, two incidents which oddly resulted in the same bizarre conclusion out of law enforcement   as the panic was supposedly caused by loud noise: Earlier this month, JFK officials said an elaborate hoax was perpetuated there, as well. Reports of a shooter at JFK were discounted as bogus, according to the New York Times.KCAL9 Anchor Leyna Nguyen was at the airport returning to Los Angeles from Atlanta. She said it was  surreal  to see so many people running.LAFD is also on scene investigating and noted  no significant incident has been noted thus far  as of 8:47 p.m.At of 9:40 p.m., police officially said there was no shooter and no incident. It will still take some time to re-screen all the passengers, officials said. Interestingly, even though individual accounts of this week s LAX event varied, a Yahoo News reporter named JP Mangalindan, stated that he was in the terminal at the time of the shooting. However, following the panic inducing incident, he posted to social media with the following message, after police had already confirmed there was  no shooter  two hours earlier: Shooters at LAX running around. Cops running around. I m down on the ground,  at 11:51pm.Question: Why would Mangalindan state that multiple shooter s were  running around  at 11:51pm when cops disclosed that the situation was basically a non-incident by 9:40pm?It s possible that Mangalindan was confused during the heat of the moment but however you look at it, his messages may have caused additional panic, potentially creating a greater risk for passengers fleeing the airport to safety.Here s a string of tweets confirming Mangalindan continued to heighten the situation from inside LAX Eventually Mangalindan conceded that the event was in fact a false alarm (was this a potential drill?) at 1:08am, according to the Daily Mail  as he readied himself for a future pizza delivery.As this story rapidly unfolded, there proved to be other bizarre aspects associated with the official narrative, as a man dressed as the fictional character Zorro (armed with a plastic sword), was initially apprehended in dramatic fashion following the reported active shooter scenario at LAX. He was then promptly released by authorities after the strange incident.  ZORRO?    An unidentified actor dressed as Zorro was an initial suspect during an active-shooter alarm at LAX. (Image Source: Daily Mail)Active Shooter or Live Drill?The Daily Mail described the LAX false alarm in the following manner: An actor returning from an audition dressed as masked hero Zorro, complete with plastic sword, shut down LAX airport and sparked fear of an active shooter situation on Sunday night.The unidentified, middle-aged black man dressed in an all black satin costume with gloves, hat and large belt was apprehended on a bench as he waited  for a ride home .Police were initially responding to claims that a man had opened fire near a baggage reclaim, and set about evacuating thousands of passengers and grounding flights.After a thorough search and the eventual arrest of the costumed man outside a terminal, LAPD admitted the entire incident was a false alarm. The Daily Mail article continued by adding that, LAX also tweeted that the reports of a shooting had not been confirmed and police were investigating, before adding which parts of the airport have been shut. Upper/Departures & Lower/Arrivals levels of Central Terminal Area (CTA) closed. Pls check w/ airlines if heading to LAX (sic),  a tweet read. Was it possible that the event at LAX was a drill?  EVACUATION    Passengers ordered to evacuate after reports of an active-shooter at LAX. (Image Source: twitter)LAX International Airport is no stranger to active shooter situations and drills Back in 2002 according to reports,  Hesham Mohamed Hadayet [a person previously known to Egyptian authorities with multiple ID s] 41, went to the ticketing counter of El Al, Israel s national airline, at Los Angeles International Airport July 4 carrying two handguns and a hunting knife. He opened fire at midmorning, killing two people and wounding three others before he was killed by an El Al security guard. The incident occurred days after the airport was slated for a $9.6 billion airport security  redesign proposal,  something that would require passengers to go through screening prior to reaching their terminal for boarding a plane. The event conveniently underscored new security measures put in place after 9/11, insuring the continued growth of the TSA. Additionally, the Hadayet shooting displayed many of the conflicting aspects reported following other high profile shootings today.In 2013 21WIRE reported that the LAPD conducted an  active shooter drill  in October with the Los Angeles Airport Police Department at the L.A./Ontario International Airport, acting out an almost exact scenario that played out during a TSA-related shooting at LAX in November.According to a report by the San Bernardino Sun, written by Doug Saunders, the active shooter drill had an  armed man  shooting  three people  before officers locked down the scene.  THE AIRPORT SHOOTER    LAPD shooting drill at L.A./Ontario International Airport, month prior to LAX shooting in November of  2013.Setting the StageFollowing a major LAPD airport drill a month earlier, it was reported that Paul Ciancia moved through a crowded LAX airport terminal asking people if they were  TSA  agents or not, supposedly letting go those who were not agents prior to opening fire.It was also alleged that Ciancia, was carrying  anti-government and anti-TSA  writings contained in a bag on his person, one such paper was even an apparent reference to the global conspiracy meme NWO (New World Order), adding a conspiratorial twist to the dramatic shootout.All too often we see the  stage persona of any alleged killer being touted as hard evidence, despite the fact that even strong circumstantial evidence of any apparent crime would likely result in many hours of analysis and debate, potentially without a definitive conclusion, even if the evidence eventually reached a court room setting.Mass media appeared to have worked out their own formula for laying out a familiar series of polarizing political points in the aftermath of this  tragic  mass-shooting, as they have with many others since. Appearing once again, to purposefully redirect the public to look at a ready-made laundry list of hateful rhetoric and random writings as an ironclad motive for the crime. Rapidly descending into an overindulgent barrage of media speculation and theorizing.  UNNATURAL BLOOD    Incredibly thick, red acrylic paint-like blood appears next to what is meant to be the  shooter    allegedly a person said to be Paul Ciancia. The image in question was initially released by the NY POST immediately after the incident.Some critics of the event stated that Ciancia s blood could have been mixed with a coagulant called Celox, noting that this blood also looked suspiciously like the blood left at scene of the Boston Bombing.Watch the LAPD describe 2013 s dramatic TSA involved shooting which was allegedly carried out by Paul Ciancia Not more than 3 weeks ago  we practiced the exact scenario that played out today   we played out today.    the LAPD s response to 2013 s LAX shooting The photographs below were obtained from a Facebook page by the name of Team LAX that was referenced in an article by Digital Journalism Saturday, November 2nd, 2013.The Team Lax page, is the official event page for the LAX Airport Police and the images below were posted on October 8th of 2013. Here s a description of the photos from the same post on Facebook: As we posted previously, this past weekend Airport Police officers participated in an active shooter drill at Ontario Airport. An integral part of this training were the many volunteers who brought reality to the scenario by acting as victims. These  victims  were actually Youth Cadets from Airport Police and several divisions of the LAPD. The LAPD cadets came from the following divisions: Pacific, Hollenbeck, Southwest, Mission, Devonshire, Hollywood, West L.A., Topanga, Central, Rampart, Wilshire and 77th. Leading the cadets were Youth Services Officers (YSO s), William Lara and Ericka Holliday from LAXPD and LAPD Sgt. Stephen Showler, Pacific Division Training Coordinator. 69 cadets participated on Saturday and 115 on Sunday. We d like to thank all the Youth Cadets for their participation and boundless energy in making this training so realistic for our officers.   MOCK SHOOTING    Youth Cadets with L.A. airport police act out an  active shooter drill  in October of 2013. (Image Source: SocioEconomic History).The actors used in these  drills  (photo, above) might as well be mannequins, because the idea that you can recreate a real-life defensive strategy from a choreographed shooting scenario is far-fetched, especially when you consider the video game, Hollywood film style, hair-trigger,  shoot first  narrative repetitively on observed during these staged events   offering very little in terms of a defensive game plan.There is no question that active shooter drills have been used to get the public to accept and acquiesce to new  rules of engagement  in the War On Terror era and arguably, they ve flatlined in terms of public safety   while continuing the steady growth of the security apparatus in America and abroad.  SHELTER IN PLACE    The strange scripted scene at JFK International Airport in August after false reports of an active shooter running loose. (Image Source: mashable)The Panic RoomWhile the recent LAX/JFK airport active shooter situations were fear inducing in and of themselves, we once again saw the larger role played by mass media in distorting fact, which was also on display earlier this summer, when they inaccurately claimed there was an active shooter at a US military facility.In July of 2016, while US media including ABC, CNN and other   went into a code orange alert mode for over 2 and a half hours, 21WIRE had already recognized that an apparent  active shooter  situation at Joint Base Andrews was only a drill, and called it correctly when the news first broke.Here s a passage from 21WIRE discussing the nature of the Joint Base Andrews drill: We re told that initial reports of a  active shooter  were prompted by an emergency 911 call to outside law enforcement about a gunman seen on the base. The fact that this alleged  distress call  came from a  staff member  at the Malcolm Grow Medical Facility located inside Andrews (one of the country s most secure closed military facilities) should have raised some pertinent questions   like why base security were not informed first, as one would expect. Furthermore, any reports by the US mainstream media characterizing the event as a genuine  active shooter  crisis should have been immediately squashed by the fact that Joint Base Andrews was also running a no-notice  Active Shooter Exercise scheduled for 9am that morning. Sadly, this did not happen, and all US media outlets began their crisis reporting   complete with the usual panel of security  experts  and  justice correspondents on CNN and other mainstream networks. In an article from the LA Times, we see that the controversial think-tank Rand Corporation is observing the psychological effects of mass shooter/active shooter situations, no doubt gauging the social engineering aspects of these events: For all the investments in post-9/11 security improvements and training, the confusion and chaos stemming from a false report of violence can actually be harder to handle than dealing with a gunman, officials say. The hunt for a gunman takes much longer when there is no one to find. To keep people calm, you d like to say that there s nothing going on, but you don t know that, and you can t say that,  said Brian Jenkins, a security and terrorism expert at Rand Corp., the Santa Monica think tank. People do unpredictable things in panic situations. Adding to the danger of these modern active shooter events, it was recently reported that local law enforcement in Punta Gorda, Florida, accidentally used live rounds during a so-called  shoot/don t shoot  scenario, fatally shooting one woman participating in the drill that suddenly went live. Punta Gorda Police Department (Facebook)Staged Propaganda, False Imagery & Embedded Journo s As staged active shooter drills and mass casualty incidents have become the norm, we ve also seen an escalation in war time images meant to polarize the public, something aimed at shifting attitudes politically.In February 2015, 21WIRE reported how British journalist John Cantlie s video message  From Inside Aleppo  was part of an elaborate PR effort to  humanize  ISIS and its future generation of fighters. The decidedly pro-ISIS video was heavily promoted by the intelligence group SITE as well as the ISIS media arm, Al Hayat Media Center.Mainstream pundits and broadcast journalists maintain that  Cantlie  is and was under duress, having been forced into operating as a crack reporter for the ISIS terror brand. The narrative borders on the ridiculous, yet it has been totally accepted without question.Cantlie s prominent role in the YouTube video series  Lend Me Your Ears,  prompted some in new media circles to question the British journo, along with his links to USAID connected reporter, James Foley   one of the as of yet, forensically unproven deaths at the hands of the estranged terror persona Jihadi John .Nothing in the video appeared to be authentic, as Cantlie failed to disclose the true nature of the West s role in inciting terror in the region, through its various  arms trafficking and  Train and Equip  programs linked to so-called  moderate  rebels in Syria.Recently, 21WIRE contributor Branko Mali  of Kali Tribune, deconstructed another active Gladio-style shooting in Munich, Germany, and its apparent relation to the bizarre incident in Nice, France. In fact, rather uncannily, journalist Richard Gutjahr, was in France to capture the white lorry truck rampage on Bastille Day as well as the strange shooting incident in Munich. Here s a passage from his report, an article which outlines deep media and political ties: He [Richard Gutjahr] is a M nchen based journalist, talk show moderator, blogger and  new media technologies  enthusiast, currently employed by Bavarian TV company, BR 24. For uninitiated into Gutjahr s impressive, if somewhat bizarre, CV his name will probably remain in memory simply because he decided to visit Nice for an  extended weekend  to experience the July, 14. Bastille Day celebration and, quite accidentally, found himself on the balcony of his hotel room, when white lorry driver commenced his rampage. While driving through M nchen, Richard got the call from a friend informing him that there s a shootout in the Olympia-Einkaufszentrum.The whole episode reminds one of Goran Tomasevic, a Serbian photographer who works with Reuters and has also captured pivotal political events over the past 20 years, such as his picture of a U.S. Marine witnessing the toppling of a Saddam Hussein statue, the Arab Spring, so-called moderates in Aleppo and the suspiciously staged Westgate Mall massacre in Kenya in 2013.Similarly, new forms of subliminally arresting and deceptive propaganda have appeared recently in Western media and more broadly, over the past year from NGOs linked to the military alliance NATO and to known Islamist terrorist groups.Over the last two weeks, an emotionally charged scene supposedly depicting a Syrian child rescued after an airstrike became a polarizing story exploited by Western media.Here we see 21WIRE contributor, Jay Dyer of Jay s Analysis discuss the dust boy propaganda Aleppo Syria  Dust Boy  Image StagedWhile watching the entire video footage of the event, the dust-covered boy who appears to be bleeding after an apparent airstrike (yet the blood has already coagulated) is left unattended, as he is oddly propped up in an ambulance seat while being photographed by Mahmoud Raslan   an alleged  media activist  who has been seen fraternizing with terrorist groups in Aleppo. This has prompting some critics to charge that Raslan may actually be linked to the White Helmets, a group funded largely by NATO and an NGO embedded with Al-Qaeda members, who regularly dispense staged humanitarian media images and video for public consumption.From this information, we might observe that the recent so-called rescue operation in Aleppo, was specifically produced for maximum emotional impact and internet viral capability, and always dovetailing with the West s regime change plot in Syria   with the support of a so-called  first-responder  or  human rights  NGO.The strange and disembodied footage of a blood and dust-covered boy, was also reminiscent of last year s migrant crisis image of a child washed ashore   yet the mainstream media failed to question the geopolitical angle behind the photograph as well as the engineered migrant crisis itself.In many ways, this type of drive-by  shock and awe  imagery is linked to past political staging in the Middle East, as well as other hotbed areas around the world. STAGING WAR    An allegedly staged war image from the Ukraine. (Image Source: rt)It was also recently revealed that a war image in the Ukraine had supposedly been staged just as things have been politically been heating up in that region. RT explains:The dramatic picture in question which went viral this month shows two Ukrainian soldiers, carrying their wounded comrade, while a huge explosion is visible behind their backs, sending a plume of smoke into the air.The author of the photo Dmitry Muravsky, an amateur photographer who served as an adviser to the Ukrainian Defense Minister claimed it was made on June 4 in the village of Shirokino, located on the firing line between the government forces and rebels in east Ukraine.However in an open letter signed by numerous Ukrainian journalists and photographers, people claimed it was a fake and said they strongly condemn such manipulative activities. Interestingly, in 2014, The UK s Express discussed a book entitled Five Came Back by movie historian Mark Harris that revealed a handful of legendary Hollywood directors had  faked combat footage in  Second World War documentaries that have been considered genuine for almost 70 years. John Ford, John Huston, Frank Capra, William Wyler and George  Stevens all enlisted despite their  glittering Hollywood lifestyles and joined other filmmakers recording the Allied advance across occupied Europe and in the Pacific.Their films were allegedly created to  boost morale among troops and cinema audiences  the world over, including apparently staging much of the epic scenes during the Pearl Harbor attack in 1944.Additionally, the report states that  Decades later both Capra and Huston admitted in interviews that some of their bogus work was  disgraceful  but  Huston was less frank publicly about the authenticity of his acclaimed documentary The  Battle Of San Pietro, which, in 1991, was selected for America s  prestigious National Film Registry of the Library of Congress because it was considered historically significant. The West continues to see a media blitz of false, fake and doctored criminality often masking many real-life conspiracies READ MORE DAILY SHOOTER NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Daily Shooter Files 