On Monday morning NBC News reported that an airport official said “cheering, clapping, and banging from people watching the Olympic Games”, may have been mistaken for the sounds of scuffle and gunfire.
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The John F Kennedy International Airport was on Monday partly evacuated due to what United States law enforcement authorities described as “abundance of caution” following reports that shots had been fired in one of the terminals.
Authorities received reports of gunshots at Terminal 8 at about 9:30 p.m., while similar reports prompted the closing of Terminal 1 at about 10:15 p.m., according to an e-mailed statement from the Port Authority of NY and New Jersey. Around that time, New York Police Department (NYPD) Special Operations Division Chief Harry Wedin said all terminals had been “searched and cleared”.
Video from a witness, obtained by ABC News, shows a group of police officers walking through the terminal with long guns, yelling for people to get down on the floor. No further information was provided, except a voice over a loud speaker telling passengers to leave their bags behind and exit the terminal. Negative results. All affected terminals will resume operations shortly.
Passengers posted pictures and videos on Twitter showing crowds of people gathered outside the terminals.
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Officials at the Port Authority of NY and New Jersey, which operates the airport, have initially deemed the response as appropriate given the perceived threat of a gunman shooting at an airport teeming with travelers. During the time of the shutdown, police went through every corner of the packed American Airlines terminal searching for evidence of a gun, a victim or bullets. “It appears that no shots have been fired”, he said. He also said that the televisions above him were tuned to CNN and not the Olympics.
