Did Yemen man yell 'Allahu Akbar' in incident outside cockpit door near San Francisco Airport? (video)
A Yemeni man, Rageit Almurisi, 28, was arrested Sunday night at San Francisco International Airport after witnesses said he tried to storm the cockpit of an American Airlines jet. The plane, American Airlines flight 1561, was headed to SFO from Chicago’s O’Hare airport. Witnesses said Almurisi was pounding on the cockpit door and shouting.
Police said Almurisi had no known ties to terrorist organizations. He was subdued by flight attendants and passengers who assisted the flight attendants in handcuffing the man to a seat.
The incident happened as the jet was over Modesto, about 15 minutes outside of San Francisco. Almurisi was arrested when the plane landed at San Francisco International. He was taken to San Mateo County Medical Center where he was treated for abrasions to his elbow and chin that he got as the result of being tackled, police said. One of the passengers who assisted in subduing Almurisi was a retired Secret Service agent, another a retired San Mateo Police officer. Almurisi was subsequently taken to San Mateo County Jail.
The unanswered question is the man’s motive. Almurisi was carrying a Yemeni passport and a California ID card. Police said the man was shouting something “unintelligible” when he tried to storm the cockpit door.
A woman whose said her parents were on the flight, told the Armstrong and Getty Radio show that the man shouted “Allahu Akbar” when he tried to storm the door. The caller said her parents are Syrian Christians who were returning from a trip to Israel where they visited the Holy Land. But she said that her parents were never interviewed by police.
Host Joe Getty said that he talked to a another relative of the couple who told a similar story. Getty said he was he was concerned because the information about Almurisi shouting “Allahu Akbar” was just from one family. The hosts noted that since the man was probably shouting in Arabic, his comments were likely labeled “unintelligible” because the witnesses who talked to police did not understand Arabic. If the caller’s parents speak Arabic, they may have been the only witnesses onboard who could tell authorities what the man said.
The phrase "Allahu Akbar" means "God is Great" and is used to express delight, euphoria or as a battle cry.
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