Predawn execution of a warrant and an ensuing firefight left an executive from the Bill and Hillary Clinton Airport hospitalized in unknown condition.
(Video: KARK)
Around 6 a.m. Tuesday morning, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) arrived on scene of a Little Rock, Arkansas home to serve a search warrant. Instead, a firefight ensured that left 53-year-old Bryan Malinowski injured with multiple gunshot wounds and neighbors in a state of confusion.
“I talked to other neighbors and all of us are just confused,” said local resident Shea De Bruyn to KARK who awoke to the sound of gunshots. “I heard about five or six, like, loud bangs.”
A statement from the Arkansas Department of Public Safety detailed that the airport executive “was injured with gunshot wounds and treated on scene by paramedics before being transported to a local hospital.”
Additionally, an ATF agent had also sustained a “non-life-threatening gunshot wound” during the firefight, though it hadn’t been reported who had fired the initial shot. Instead, Arkansas DPS said, “An investigative case file will be presented to the prosecuting attorney, who will determine whether the use of deadly force was consistent with Arkansas law.”
While the details of the warrant remained unknown, outside the Little Rock residence, first responders and law enforcement officials could be seen entering and exiting the home with equipment “to cut through metal” before neighbors said they had observed guns and ammunition being carried away and loaded into a trailer.
#UPDATE Neighbors spotted guns and ammunition being carried into an ATF trailer after @littlerockfire carried equipment used to cut through metal into the home of Bryan Malinowski, the executive director of the Clinton National Airport. He is hospitalized following a shootout… pic.twitter.com/T6iWyugYhc
— Neale Zeringue (@NealeZeringue) March 19, 2024
With more than three decades of airport leadership experience, according to his job profile, Malinowski had joined Clinton National Airport in 2008 as Director of Properties, Planning and Development, ultimately climbing the ladder to executive director by 2019.
He had previously held roles at El Paso International Airport, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Lehigh Valley International Airport.
According to a report attributed the SunSentinel, Malinowski had been fired from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport when faced with allegations of “violating government conflict-of-interest policies” as financial records showed he had received $12,000 from the company responsible for handling passenger luggage.
The announcement that Bryan Malinowski had been named as Exec. Director of the Little Rock airport said he had held “leadership positions with Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport,” but didn’t mention he’d been fired following an internal investigation into finances. https://t.co/RiUx23Aj5n pic.twitter.com/ZuQ7tYGja7
— Tom Mars (@TomMarsLaw) March 20, 2024
A statement from Little Rock Airport Commission Chairman Bill Walker expressed, “Today’s incident saddens us, and we pray for everyone involved. As the chairman of the Little Rock Municipal Airport Commission, I have named Tom Clarke, the airport’s deputy executive director, as acting executive director. The airport’s day-to-day operations continue as normal.”
Further expanding on her own experience, De Bruyn told KARK, “My heart was racing and the dogs were barking. I’m just really curious as to what was going on just a few houses down.”
“I’ve only heard good things about the lady that lives there, and it’s just sad to hear that this has happened,” she added.
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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