Egyptian's motives in LAX shooting still a mystery

Hesham Mohamed Hadayet

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Investigators Saturday methodically sifted through what they could of the life of Hesham Mohamed Hadayet, searching for a motive behind the Egyptian national's deadly attack Thursday at Israel's El Al airlines ticket counter at Los Angeles International Airport.

Hadayet killed two Israeli nationals -- a 46-year-old diamond importer and a 25-year-old El Al employee -- and wounded four others, including the security guard who eventually killed him.

The FBI said Hadayet had in his possession a .45-caliber handgun, which he used in the shooting, and a 9-mm handgun, along with a 6-inch knife and extra ammunition and magazines for the guns. FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard Garcia appealed for anyone who knew Hadayet to come forward with information.

"It appears that he went there with the intention of killing people," said Garcia. "Why he did that is still undetermined. That's what we're trying to find out."

CNN NewsPass VIDEO With Israeli officials calling the shooting at the El Al ticket counter at LAX an act of 'terrorism', CNN's David Ensor tries to define the term (July 5) Play video   RESOURCES On the Scene: FBI looking for motive in LAX attack    MORE STORIES • LAX suspect leaves few obvious clues  • Airport security: Can the U.S. do more?  • Two LAX victims, a generous father, an angelic daughter    EXTRA INFORMATION Gallery: Scenes from the L.A. airport shooting  Map: Where the shooting took place

Dan Danilewicz, a neighbor of Hadayet in Irvine, California, said he was "shocked."

"They were a good family. They were a stable family," he said. "We've been here five years, and they were here before we got here. So you know they were a stable factor."

Although Israeli officials said they considered the incident a terrorist act in the absence of proof to the contrary, Garcia said the investigation has uncovered no anti-Israeli or anti-Jewish sentiments on the part of Hadayet, also known as Hesham Mohamed Ali Hadayet.

But investigators were still conducting interviews and were particularly interested in talking to friends and family members, he said.

"We are conducting more interviews in those two areas, relatives as well as associates," Garcia said. "So far we have no indication of any prejudices against any sort of religion or nationality."

The Irvine Police Department released three recorded contacts with Hadayet, who lived in the southern Los Angeles suburb. Five years ago, Hadayet was robbed at knife-point while in his taxicab at John Wayne/Orange County Airport, about 30 miles south of LAX, according to the police statement.

In May 1996, Irvine police were dispatched to Hadayet's home and determined that he and his wife were both victims of assault and battery after a physical confrontation with each other. No charges were filed.

Most recently, Hadayet served as a witness to a grand theft case last November, involving the use of an access card, the statement said. The case was related to payments that Hadayet and other business men received from a fraud suspect.

Hadayet's wife -- who gained citizenship in 1996 -- and two children had departed last week for a trip to Egypt.

LAX shooting victims Yaakov Aminov and Victoria Hen.

"We don't have any determination whether or not it was a planned trip," Garcia said. "We're looking at those aspects."

In Cairo, an uncle, Hassan Mustaf Mahfouz, a retired Egyptian army general, said he was shocked to read about the events of Thursday, which was his nephew's birthday.

"I cannot believe what happened," he said. "This is a shock for all of us. We are waiting to find out what the story is all about."

Israeli Transportation Minister Ephraim Sneh said Friday that Israel's experience as a target of terrorism made the assumption that this, too, was a terrorist attack a logical one -- and that it didn't matter if Hadayet was found to have connections with known terrorist organizations.

"The question is not if he is affiliated to a network of global terror," he said. "His motivation, and maybe his affiliation, is the question."

Garcia conceded the point, but said that the FBI "cannot operate on that assumption."

"The ingredient is if we can associate this individual with a known terrorist organization, if we have information that he started his own terrorist organization," or if comments from associates or documents indicate such an association, Garcia said.

Hadayet, who owned a limousine service, had a green card that allowed him to work in the United States, where he had lived for a decade.

Garcia said investigators searched the man's apartment in Irvine and a Mercedes registered in his name found in the airport parking lot. He said investigators removed a computer from the home and were waiting for a search warrant to see what information was on it.

--CNN Correspondents Frank Buckley, Charles Feldman and David Mattingly contributed to this report.