DATELINES

Mar 1, 2002 12:00 PM

Philadelphia — A man reported to be brandishing a knife died after police attempting to arrest him shot him with a Taser gun. It was the first such fatality since police began using the electric weapon last year, authorities said. In an effort to subdue a suspect, police employed pepper spray — when it had no effect, one employed the Taser, which is designed to stop a human with a 50,000-volt electrical current. The suspect was then handcuffed and placed in a patrol wagon for the ride to the hospital. “He was conscious at the time. He was talking the whole time, ranting the whole time on the way to the hospital,” an officer told The Philadelphia Inquirer. “At some point, he became unconscious and expired.”

New York — A drug-fueled romp in a New York-bound airplane's rest room sparked a midair terror scare that sent a pair of F-16 fighter jets scrambling. Flight attendants complained to the pilot that two male passengers were acting suspiciously, making numerous trips to the rest room together. The plane's captain radioed ahead to JFK Airport requesting authorities meet with the men upon arrival. Air Force officials overheard the captain's radio dispatch and sent two F-16s to intercept the jetliner over the Atlantic Ocean, said Federal Aviation Administration officials.

Atlanta — Police say a man walked into an elementary school, selected a girl at random and struck her in the head with a hammer. The hammer lodged in the back of the child's head, but she survived emergency surgery. “This was a random attack … He wasn't targeting any particular person,” said police Cpl. Ray Dunlap.

Lowell, Mass. — A woman who allegedly beat a fellow grocery store customer for bringing too many items into an express checkout line claims she was acting in self-defense. Karen Morgan, 38, was arrested shortly after she allegedly punched and kicked a 51-year-old woman outside a supermarket.

The alleged victim said the dispute began when she inadvertently brought 13 items into a 12-items-or-fewer checkout lane.

Morgan, who was in line behind her, complained she didn't know how to count, then swore at her, the victim said. Later, as she walked home with the groceries, she said Morgan pulled up beside her in a car and the two exchanged words. “‘Then she got out of the car and commenced a whooping on me,’” the woman told The Sun of Lowell.

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