(Headline USA) The brother of a Little Rock airport executive shot by federal agents serving a search warrant said he fears the victims may not survive and was left wanting answers about the mysterious pre-dawn raid that appeared to have gone awry.
Bryan Malinowski, 53, was injured in a shootout Tuesday with agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives at his west Little Rock home.
We’re still waiting on information from @ARStatePolice on the shooting at Durance Court. This viewer picture was taken shortly after neighbors heard 5-6 shots around 6 AM. Ambulance and firefighters were spotted along with @LRpolice, ATF, & State Police. #ARnews pic.twitter.com/Fbt7Mp2qB6
— Neale Zeringue (@NealeZeringue) March 19, 2024
Malinowski’s older brother, Matthew, told NBC News that the family was not sure if the victim was “going to make it in the next 24 hours” while confirming his brother was shot in the head during the exchange of gunfire.
He said doctors are keeping his brother on life support and not performing surgery because they don’t think he would survive. “We don’t know how much longer he has to live.”
The raid on Malinowski, the executive director of the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport, adds to an enigma that already raises the red flags of some conspiracy theorists if only for its connection to the notorious power couple through the airport’s name.
It was unclear if a fiery crash of a single-engine aircraft at the airport, which killed the pilot, could be connected.
Neither the ATF, state police nor federal prosecutors would provide details of what agents were looking for, citing an ongoing investigation.
ATF officials said agents were serving a search warrant at Bryan Malinowski’s home just after 6 a.m. The agents said he fired at them from inside the home, at which point they returned fire. One ATF agent suffered a non-life-threatening injury and was hospitalized.
Around 2:35 p.m., Little Rock firefighters carrying a power saw and a Halligan tool—a large prybar—were seen walking toward the house.
An ATF agent was overheard saying they were at the scene to help agents open a safe in Malinowski’s house, the Arkansas Democrat–Gazette reported.
Matthew Malinowski questioned why agents came to his brother’s home so early instead of approaching him at work. He contends the agents “broke down his door” leaving his brother no choice but to “defend himself.”
“There’s something fishy here. The ATF went after him in the worst possible way,” he said. “There’s no reason why they couldn’t have arrested him at work at the airport.”
Matthew Malinowski also said it seemed odd that his brother could be entangled with the law, noting that he was well connected in Arkansas, had an annual salary of more than $250,000, lived in a nice suburb and had collections of guns and coins.
“When someone makes that much money, there’s no incentive to do anything wrong,” the brother said. “He has so much to lose.”
But such has been the case for many who find themselves snared in the web of criminal intrigue surrounding the Clintons, whose ever-growing body count has become a cultural phenomenon unto itself with high-profile names like Vince Foster, Seth Rich and Jeffrey Epstein among the dozens who died under extraordinarily mysterious circumstances.
The Clintons also have been accused of participating in criminal rings including drug-running and child-trafficking through the decades, although no charges have yet to stick.
With the Malinowski family still wondering what sparked the shooting and federal investigators still not releasing any details, Matthew Malinowski said the case against his brother doesn’t add up.
“Something stinks to high hell,” he said.
According to his biography on the airport’s website, Bryan Malinowski has worked in the airline industry for more than 30 years, serving in operational leadership roles at Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport, El Paso International Airport in Texas and Lehigh Valley International Airport in Pennsylvania.
Malinowski joined the management team at Clinton National in 2008 as director of properties, planning and development before being promoted to deputy director of the airport a year later. He took over as executive director in 2019.
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
