Members of the Port Authority Police Department stand guard at Terminal 8 at John F. Kennedy airport.
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The evacuation was a precaution, Authority spokesman Joe Pentangelo told CNN, as there were no injuries, arrests or confirmation of shots fired. “At this time, no firearm, rounds or shell casings or other evidence of shots fired has been found”.
Usain Bolt of Jamaica celebrates winning the Men’s 100m Final on Day 9 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Witnesses state they heard two shots fired, but no police officers heard any shots. According to the news outlet, police said that the airport went into high alert when a woman exiting a plane said she had heard gunshots.
One official told NBC News the noise could have been cheering and banging from people watching the Olympics.
No gun casings were found after a search of Terminal 8, the Port Authority of NY and New Jersey said in a Twitter message.
Wenjay Sung, 37, a traveler from Arcadia, California, said he came out of a bathroom around 9:30 p.m. ET Sunday and started following a stream of people walking in one direction. It also said that travellers should contact their carriers. There is substantial PAPD and NYPD presence at JFK and LGA (LaGuardia Airport). However, after conducting a thorough search, police gave an all-“clear” and said emergency calls over shots at the airport were “unfounded”.
Less than an hour later, yet another call of shots fired prompted the closure of Terminal 1 at JFK, in addition to a nearby highway, the Van Wyck Expressway.
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Around that time, New York Police Department (NYPD) Special Operations Division Chief Harry Wedin said all terminals had been “searched and cleared”.
