According to his brother, the Arkansas airport executive director shot by federal agents in a raid on his home last week died of his injuries.
Bryan Malinowski, age 53, passed away two days after an exchange of gunfire with agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives at his Little Rock home. Matthew Malinowski said that he was pronounced dead on Thursday.
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Bill Walker, the chair of the Little Rock Municipal Airport Commission announced that Malinowski also died. Malinowski worked at the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport.
“With heavy hearts, we announce that our Executive Director Bryan Malinowski has passed away. Walker stated that Bryan had been employed at the airport for 16 years. Under his leadership, the airport experienced significant growth, with expanded services and offerings for our community and State. “We extend our deepest condolences and love to Bryan’s family, Maer, and all of his friends.”
Questioning The Shooting
The circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting by Bryan Malinowski have raised many questions. ATF stated that agents were trying to serve a warrant at Malinowski’s home when a gunfire incident occurred. One agent sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
His brother confirmed that Malinowski had been shot in the brain.
He said that the ATF agents “went for a killing shot”. “I saw that they fired five times and were shooting to harm, and Bryan shot back at them.” He was shooting at the shins. It wasn’t a lethal shot.
He added that “one of the rounds passed through three or four walls.”
The shooting took place just days after Malinowski met with Arkansas lawmakers in Washington, D.C.
The Arkansas House delegation, which includes Republicans Rick Crawford, French Hill Steve Womack, and Bruce Westerman read out a statement.
Last week, a delegation from the airport met with Arkansas representatives and staff in Washington, D.C. to discuss the priorities of the airport. We will continue monitoring this situation.
Family Releases Statement
Bud Cummins, the Malinowski’s lawyer, released a statement in which he said that they had suffered “unspeakable tragedies.”
We mourn the death of Bryan who died earlier today. “Our thoughts and prayers are also with the family of the injured government agent and his friends,” said the statement. “We don’t understand the government decisions that led to the dawn raid of a private residence and the use of deadly force.” “The allegations made in the affidavit that was released today by the government are concerning.”
“Even if all the allegations are true, it doesn’t justify what happened. Bryan Malinowski was accused, at worst, of selling private firearms to someone who might not have been entitled to buy them. We will now wait until all the facts are known. We ask the public to respect our privacy in the interim.”
Matthew Malinowski questioned why the authorities carried out the raid at six in the morning instead of approaching his workplace brother, which would have been safer for all involved. Bryan Malinowski is an avid firearm collector, but he’s not sure why the search warrant was issued for him.
David Gelman is a former prosecutor and criminal defense lawyer. He said that it’s concerning that ATF hasn’t provided information on why agents were in the home.
He said that the fact they have not released any information about what they did outside at 6 am is more worrying. You know how quickly the U.S. attorney’s office loves a press conference. Normally, they’d have provided a copy of the warrant to justify it. “Still nothing.”
He added that there must have been a reasonable suspicion of a crime in the house. “Therefore, it was necessary to execute a warrant at the location.”
He said that he believes de-escalation calls would have likely saved lives in this situation.
Matthew Malinowski said, “It’s just not that I dislike ATF. But we have some bad carrots which are causing problems for everyone else. They’re also causing harm.”
It was hard to believe that his brother would be involved in any illegal activity, given the way his life was going.
Bryan Malinowski owned five properties and earned between $270,000 and $280,000 per year. His brother also said he was responsible for 2,000 employees at the Little Rock airport.
When you are in this position, the life is wonderful. Why ruin it with a minor infraction? Matthew Malinowski said previously. He always kept his nose in order. “I know that he had no enemies.”
