Alpizar lived in the central Florida town of Maitland and worked in the Paint Department of a Home Depot.

He was supposed to fly with his wife, Anne Buechner, to Orlando, Florida, returning from a missionary trip to Quito, Ecuador.

Alpizar ran away from the aircraft and, Homeland Security officials maintain, claimed to have a bomb in his bag and then made a sudden movement toward it.

On December 7, 2005, upon landing at Miami International Airport, from Medellín, Colombia, the airplane on which Alpizar was traveling taxied to the gate and passengers began disembarking to be processed by Customs Agents.

As the plane finished boarding and all 114 passengers were seated,[1] Alpizar was heard having an argument with his wife, Anne Buechner.

The two Air Marshals pulled out their .357 SIG Sauer pistols and opened fire, killing Alpizar.

[citation needed] Just hours later, in a nationally broadcast interview with All Things Considered's Michele Norris, Eric Weiner of NPR[4] reported the assertion of Homeland Security Special Agent in Charge James Bauer that Alpizar claimed to have a bomb in his carry-on bag.

Recapping the events that led to Alpizar's shooting, Weiner reported, "They were reboarding the flight, it was continuing to Orlando.

According to the Miami Dade State Attorney's Office Final Report of May 23, 2006, the pilot claimed to have heard Alpizar say he had a bomb.

[2][7] McAlhany said he remembers having a shotgun pressed into his head by one officer and hearing cries and screams from many passengers aboard the aircraft after the shooting in the jetway.

[5] The D Concourse of Miami International Airport was temporarily evacuated following the shooting and was re-opened around 15:00 (3:00 PM) EST.

Six days after Alpizar was shot, the U.S. government gave the organization expanded powers to "identify suspicious passengers".

The Air Marshals were "eager to conduct surveillance activities beyond the aircraft, and tighten security at public transit stations over the holiday".

[11] The report also noted many of the other witness comments made to news media, as well as Alpizar's not having taken his full dose of medication, and his unusual behavior in airports prior to the incident.