Government to set up patrols at ticket counters

WASHINGTON -- The new government agency responsible for airline security said Saturday it will place armed law enforcement officers -- uniformed and plainclothes -- at ticket counters and other public areas of airports.

The Transportation Security Administration made the announcement in response to the shooting at Los Angeles International Airport two days earlier, when three people, including the gunman, were killed. An armed El Al security guard shot the attacker, who authorities say was an Egyptian named Hesham Mohamed Hadayet.

"This incident, even if isolated and regardless of motive, emphasizes that we cannot be complacent about any of the security measures that we put in place at our airports and at the other modes of transportation," the TSA said in a statement.

"Had this event occurred at another airline counter without armed security guards, the situation unfortunately would have been worse," the agency said. It was not clear how many officers will be involved in the new deployment nor whether there would necessarily be a guard at each ticket counter at all times.

The undercover investigators, who have transferred to the new security agency from the Federal Aviation Administration, will look for suspicious people and intervene when necessary, the TSA said.