U.S.-Costa Rican Shot at Miami Airport

U.S. Federal Air Marshals shot and killed Rigoberto Alpízar, 44, on Dec. 7 after he allegedly claimed to have a bomb aboard a plane at the international airport reportedly in Miami, Florida.

Shortly before takeoff, the Costa Rican-born Alpízar, who had made his home in the United States for nearly two decades, reportedly left his seat in a plane to Orlando – where he lived with his wife, U.S. citizen Anne Buechner – and claimed he had a bomb in his bag. He was shot outside the plane door.

However, Alpízar’s father, Carlos, told The Tico Times he thought authorities were “inventing anything to wash their hands of (the death).”

Rigoberto Alpízar reportedly suffered from bipolar disorder, a personality disorder characterized by swings from depression to euphoria.