The Fort Lauderdale Airport Shooting: A Tragic Reminder of Florida’s Laws Against Shooting or Throwing Deadly Missiles
On January 6, 2017, a horrific scene unfolded at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Broward County, Florida. A lone gunman opened fire indiscriminately in a baggage claim area, killing 5 people and injuring 6 others. This tragic event put Florida’s laws against shooting or throwing deadly missiles into the spotlight.
Florida Statute 790.19 makes it a second-degree felony to shoot or throw a deadly missile into a building, vehicle, boat, aircraft or railroad engine. This law was enacted to protect the public from dangerous projectiles that can cause serious injury or death. But what exactly does it mean to shoot or throw a deadly missile?
The Definition of a Deadly Missile
Under Florida law, a “deadly missile” is basically anything that can cause death or great bodily harm when it strikes a person or structure. This includes not only bullets and explosives, but also rocks, bottles, and other objects that can seriously injure or kill someone when thrown or launched with force. Even a toy dart gun could be considered a deadly missile if it shoots hard projectiles that could put someone’s eye out.
The statute doesn’t require that the missile actually strike someone to be considered deadly. Simply shooting or throwing it into an occupied building or vehicle is enough, regardless of whether it hits anyone. The potential for serious harm is what makes it a crime.
What About Guns?
Since guns shoot bullets that can easily cause death or great bodily injury, they are absolutely considered deadly missiles under this law. Anyone who intentionally fires a gun at or into a building, vehicle, boat, aircraft or train commits a second-degree felony under Fla. Stat. 790.19.
And it doesn’t matter if the gun is loaded with live ammo, blanks, rubber bullets, or even paintballs. Anything discharged from a real firearm is treated as a deadly missile capable of causing human casualties. Firing any kind of gun at an occupied structure or conveyance falls under this statute.
What Are the Penalties?
A second-degree felony conviction for shooting or throwing a deadly missile carries some stiff penalties under Florida law. It is punishable by up to 15 years in state prison, and fines up to $10,000. Defendants may also face civil liability for damages caused to any injured victims or property.
And if the crime causes death or serious bodily injury to another person, it becomes a first-degree felony with even harsher penalties – up to 30 years imprisonment and $10,000 in fines. So this is not a charge that Florida prosecutors or judges take lightly.
Legal Defenses
People accused of violating Fla. Stat. 790.19 do have some legal defenses that a criminal defense attorney may raise on their behalf:
- Lack of intent – The statute requires that the defendant acted with willful and intentional misconduct. If the shooting or throwing was a completely unintentional accident, it may not meet the intent requirement for this crime.
- Misidentification – Eyewitnesses sometimes make mistakes, especially in chaotic active shooter scenarios. Prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is the person who fired the shots or threw the missile.
- Self-defense – The use of deadly force may be legally justified if it was necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to oneself or others. A valid claim of lawful self-defense or defense of others could defeat the charges.
- Insanity – Defendants found legally insane and unable to understand the consequences of their actions at the time of the crime cannot be criminally convicted. The insanity defense is difficult to prove but could possibly apply.
The Fort Lauderdale airport shooter was charged with several federal crimes but died before facing trial. Had he lived, Florida prosecutors may well have charged him with violating 790.19 as well.
How Florida’s Law Applies to the Fort Lauderdale Tragedy
The deadly 2017 attack at Fort Lauderdale airport was exactly the type of indiscriminate public shooting that Fla. Stat. 790.19 was designed to deter and punish. While federal law governed the prosecution, the gunman undoubtedly satisfied the elements of Florida’s law against shooting into an occupied aircraft and building.
The shooter callously fired a handgun multiple times into a crowded baggage claim area. He shot at least 10 people while approximately 300 more fled for their lives. Tragically, 5 innocent travelers lost their lives, and 6 more suffered gunshot wounds trying to escape the hail of bullets.
There is no question that firing a loaded 9mm semi-automatic pistol repeatedly into a busy airport terminal constitutes shooting deadly missiles into an occupied aircraft and building under Florida law. It was a textbook violation of 790.19, committed with complete disregard for human life.
The victims were just ordinary people retrieving their luggage like on any other travel day. But in an instant, their lives were devastated by random gun violence – a risk we all take living in a country where firearm regulation remains dangerously lax.
Florida’s statute reflects the common-sense notion that shooting guns or throwing dangerous objects into inhabited structures or vehicles must be deterred with strict criminal penalties. But in our gun-obsessed culture, no law can prevent all such tragedies or console those left behind.
That’s why it’s so important for Florida lawmakers to pass meaningful reforms – universal background checks, assault weapon bans, ammo limits, and mandatory waiting periods. It’s too late for the Fort Lauderdale victims. But with courage and moral clarity, we can still limit the carnage of future attacks.
In the meantime, may those lost be remembered, those injured find healing, and the rest of us live without fear in a society protected by both prudent laws and compassion for our fellow citizens. That is the only real remedy for the madness and anguish of mass shootings.