CLAIMS FILED IN DEADLY JULY 4 AIRPORT SHOOTING.

Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer

A Beverly Hills attorney filed claims Friday related to a July 4 shooting rampage at LAX by an Egyptian immigrant.

The claims, which typically precede lawsuits, blame the city for a lack of police officers at the Bradley International Terminal when Irvine resident Hesham Mohamed Hadayet, 41, opened fire.

Attorney Richard Fine said he also plans to file suit against al-Qaida and go after assets frozen by the U.S. government.

He cited a foreign newspaper article that reported that the gunman was a secret operative of Egyptian Jihad, al-Qaida's primary operational arm, and had met with its members before July 4.

``This has never come out before on the al-Qaida connection,'' Fine said. ``My viewpoint is when we file the lawsuit we will file against the estate of the terrorist, and if there is a credible connection to al-Qaida, we'll go after the assets of al-Qaida being frozen here in the United States. We can do that under the antiterrorism statutes.''

FBI spokeswoman Cheryl Mimura said the agency's investigation has not revealed whether Hadayet had connections to terrorists.

``There hasn't been a final ruling,'' Mimura said. ``All the results of the investigation were sent to our headquarters and they will determine whether it was an act of terrorism or whether he acted alone.''

The shooting took place the morning of July 4 when Hadayet sprayed about a dozen bullets around the second-floor ticketing level of the terminal before being shot dead by private security guards from El Al Israel Airline.

Jacob Aminov, 46, of North Hollywood, and Victoria Hen, 25, of Chatsworth, a ticket agent for El Al, were killed.

Fine filed the claims on behalf of North Hollywood resident Anat Aminov, 36, and her children.

Fine also filed a claim on behalf of North Hollywood resident Michael Shabtai, 49, for emotional trauma from being shot at numerous times.

A claim was also filed on behalf of North Hollywood resident Arie Golan, 54, for being traumatized when Hadayet's gun went off while Golan was fighting with him to stop him from killing people. An El Al security guard with a gun helped Golan fight Hadayet, a gunfight developed and both the guard and Hadayet were shot, Fine said.

Fine also filed a claim on behalf of Valley Village resident Moti Harari, who was standing with his 6-year-old daughter when Hadayet opened fire.

Fine said the city had a basic responsibility to have officers patrolling the terminal.

``There was no police or security there whatsoever,'' Fine said. ``Had there been a policeman there, this fellow never would have walked into the terminal with a gun out as he approached the El Al counter.''

LAX officials declined to comment, but cited an Oct. 23 status update on measures taken to improve security at the airport.

Following the July 4 shooting, 60 additional overtime Los Angeles Police Department officers were deployed to the airport to complement the existing 240 airport police as a visible deterrent to crime. Also, Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn authorized the hiring of 60 additional officers to support heightened security measures at the airport.