According to MSNBC, Rigoberto Alpizar, a missionary who suffered from bipolar disorder and who had stopped taking his meds, was shot to death by federal marshals. Some bystanders claim they did not hear Alpizar claim he had a bomb.

First, I would simply point out that bystander reports are always suspect. Due to the hollering that was going on, it's quite possible the bystanders could not hear what the federal marshal heard. It's also entirely possible the marshals heard someone else question whether the backpack and fanny pack were bombs, and due to acoustics only thought it was said by Mr. Alpizar.

Mr. Alpizar was orderd to stop and lie down. He did not; he reached into the bag. This was a bag which had gone through check-in and was supposedly free of any weapons. But screeners are limited in what they look for. Do we know for certain that there was nothing in that bag which might present a significant threat to either the marshals or the passengers on the airplane? I am not convinced they can detect everything. I have enough training as a chemist that I know I don't know for certain. I'm amazed they can detect as much as they can! As an amateur magician, I also know that items might be smuggled past security. If I'm not sure the contents of those bags are safe, then how are the federal marshals, without even my level of scientific expertise, supposed to make a snap judgement about it? The marshals had to act as if there might be a weapon or explosive or radio-controlled deadman switch in the bag. The marshals had to fire. If they tried to avoid shooting and the man succeded in being an actual threat, the loss of life might have been enormous. The damage to our country would have been equally enormous.

As the article points out, when a gun is used by any law enforcement officer, the goal is to cause the targeted person to immediately stop all actions. Even if a .45 is used, there is a high probability of death in such a shooting. The 9 mm, the standard gun of law enforcement, has less stopping power per bullet, and thus actually increases the chance that the targeted person will die. A shot to the shoulder that damages the arm's nerve so that a detonator cannot be set off is not a possible shot with a handgun under combat conditions. The marshals shot to make the targeted person stop. As a practical matter, that meant almost certain death for Mr. Alpizar.

As someone who deals with depression, I sympathize with Mr. Alpizar and his friends and family. The man was a Christian missionary, and therefore someone I'm likely to admire. He was not taking his medicines and he was not comfortable getting on the airplane. I am sorry that he has to be the case that now results in a warning to patients to not fly if they do not believe they can control their behavior through the flight.

The whole situation is terrible. A wife no longer has her husband. People in the world will no longer receive the help this man would offer them. The federal marshals are almost certainly being tearing themselves apart emotionally for doing what they were supposed to do and what they had to do.

Is it fair? No. Is it right? No. Is it good? Of course not. Is it what we would prefer. Certainly not.

But it's what must be because of the world we now live in. May God have mercy on us.