Official authorities have identified the US man allegedly responsible for hijacking a small passenger plane in Belize on Thursday. As one of the 14 passengers (alongside two crew members), 49-year-old Akinyela Sawa Taylor reportedly hijacked a Tropic Air Belize plane travelling from Corozal to San Pedro on April 17.
Who was Akinyela Sawa Taylor?
The knife-wielding US citizen was shot in the chest by another passenger after he demanded the pilot to take him out of country, possibly to Mexico, Chester Williams, Belize’s commissioner of police, told local journalists, as per The Guardian. It has yet to be revealed how Taylor managed to get the knife aboard. At one point, Taylor also wanted the plane to land to refuel.
The alleged US hijacker is believed to have tried to enter Belize legally via the northern border. However, immigration officials denied him entry over the weekend. Reuters reported that Taylor was a military veteran and former football coach at McCluer North High School in Florissant, Mo.
While it is still being investigated as to how he entered the country, US Embassy spokesperson Luke Martin in Belize said that the embassy is working with local police and that Taylor insisted on returning to the US. “We don’t know why he wanted to go back to the United States,” he said, per Newsweek.
Local news outlet News 5 Belize has since released Taylor’s passport image.
Passenger who shot down Akinyela Saw Taylor is critical after sustaining injuries
He has since been pronounced dead at a local hospital. Two other passengers and a pilot were injured in the process. One of them, who was stabbed in the back and suffered a puncture to his lungs, now remains in a critical condition. The passenger in focus, who has a license firearm, was ultimately declared a “hero” for shooting down Taylor is such a high-risk and anxiety-driven situation. As per People, the injured passengers are Fitzgerald Brown and Jair Castañeda, and the pilot, Howell Grange.
According to officials, a state of emergency was declared at the Philip SW Goldson International Airport after Akinyela Sawa Taylor started attacking people inside the airplane at 8:30 am, as per the New York Post. The Cessna Caravan V3HIG kept circling the airport in a haphazard manner – despite nearly running out of fuel – before it finally safely landed at an airport in Ladyville at 10:12 am.
US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce called the incident “horrifying” at a news briefing. “We are grateful, I think all of us are, that that 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.”