Reports of a gunman opening fire that turned out to be false caused panicked evacuations at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday night, while flights to and from the airport were delayed. Traffic around the airport rapidly grew heavy.
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A police officer directs a passenger at Terminal 7 in Los Angeles International Airport, Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016. The man was released. Someone yelled that he had a sword, which turned out to be plastic.
According to the information available on Twitter, where there was posted a video, the incident appeared to have occurred inside of a terminal of the airport. The airport administration previously announced that the departures and arrivals areas of central terminal had been closed.
Police say an investigation is still underway. “Airport Police continue to investigate what caused the incident”. By the time the lockdown was over, there had been 281 flight delays, 27 flight diversions, two flight cancellations, and at least one injury. Two flights were canceled, airport spokeswoman Nancy Castles said.
Several doezen people made their way down two flights of stairs out of a restricted exit and onto the tarmac, she said. Twelve of those flights were diverted to Ontario International Airport.
But after sweeping the terminals police reported there was no gunman found and no shots fired. The airport terminals were evacuated, and roadways were shut down.
Throughout the event, the public and passengers were kept informed of developments, and a new wireless emergency alert system passed information to cell phone customers within five miles of the airport, Maggard said.
“We are grateful it was not actually an active shooter”, he said.
The news of possible gunshots prompted some people to rush out the wrong security doors, setting off alarms that added to the sense of danger, LAX police union head Marshall McClain said on KNX 1070 Newsradio.
At 10:33pm, LAX tweeted that the man in the Zorro costume had been detained, but it was not immediately clear what connection he had to the false alarm. The reports were spurred by loud noises only, and police were still investigating their source.
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Isaac Yeffet, former head of security for El Al Israel Airlines who runs his own firm, Yeffet Security Consultants, said the root of the problem is weak airport security in the U.S. He cited a 2015 inspector general report from the Homeland Security Department that found in 67 out of 70 tests across the nation, TSA screeners failed to find mock weapons and explosives.
