The next day, after being refused permission by the Syrian government to dock at Tartus, the hijackers singled out Klinghoffer, a Jew, for death, shooting him in the forehead and chest as he sat in his wheelchair.
Initially, the hijackers were granted safe passage to Tunisia, but U.S President Ronald Reagan ordered a US fighter plane to force the getaway plane to land at Naval Air Station Sigonella in Italy.