Obama: At least one American citizen killed in Malaysia Airlines crash

Obama: At least one American citizen killed in Malaysia Airlines crash
(Image credit: Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)

In a press conference at the White House, President Obama announced that at least one American citizen was killed when Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was downed near the Ukraine-Russia border on Thursday. He identified the citizen as Quinn Lucas Schansman.

Obama also confirmed reports that the plane had been brought down by a surface-to-air missile, and that the missile appeared to have been fired from an area controlled by Russian-backed separatists.

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Ryu Spaeth is deputy editor at TheWeek.com. Follow him on Twitter.