What we weren’t expecting was the news that broke last Thursday coming out of Belize. Akinyela Sawa Taylor, a US-born military veteran, seized the small Tropic Air aircraft at knifepoint. The aircraft was operating a domestic schedule from Corozal to San Pedro. Then all hell broke loose as Taylor yelled to be removed from the country and Rihanna.
Taylor’s detention followed a weekend in which he had been refused entry into Belize. This denial directly led to the violent turn of events that followed. Once the aircraft was in the air, he pulled out a knife and attacked three people on the plane, including the pilot. Eyewitness accounts describe a chaotic scene as passengers had to contend with this new reality and help one another through the attack.
Thanks to the powerful move that one passenger on the flight took to protect themselves, it did. They discharged their licensed firearm with the intention to shoot Taylor, grievously injuring him. Immediately after this conflict, the plane landed in flames on the outskirts of Belize City. Both Taylor and the passenger who shot him were immediately taken to the hospital.
Although Taylor was treated at a hospital after being shot, he died within hours from his injuries. In the meantime, the bystander who stepped in was hospitalized, although it’s not clear what their condition is.
Authorities also clarified that Akinyela Sawa Taylor was a military veteran. They further reported that he was still employed, according to the internet, as a high school football coach at McCluer North High School in Florissant, Missouri. Prior to that, he taught in the U.S. Yet this experience makes the already tragic narrative even more complicated.
Law enforcement continues to investigate the motivations fueling Taylor’s actions. They first set out, with almost superhuman patience and determination, to reconstruct the chain of events that led up to the hijacking. His sudden denial of entry into Belize over the weekend is more troubling. That brings me to what drove him to these extremes.
