Suspected LAX Shooter's Father Was Worried About Suicide Attempt

Called police to check up on him because of a troubling text message

The young man believed to have carried out a shooting at Los Angeles International Airport had sent a sibling a text message mentioning suicide, leading their father to seek authorities' help in finding him, a New Jersey police chief said Friday.

Paul Ciancia's father called Pennsville Police Chief Allen Cummings early Friday afternoon saying another of his children had received a text message from the 23-year-old "in reference to him taking his own life," the chief told The Associated Press.

The elder Ciancia asked for help in locating Paul, Cummings said. The chief called Los Angeles police, which sent a patrol car to Ciancia's apartment. It wasn't clear whether the police visited before or after the airport shooting.

"Basically, there were two roommates there" Cummings said. "They said, 'We saw him yesterday and he was fine.'"

He told Cianci's father that because of his son's age, he couldn't take a missing persons report.