Police have arrested a man who sneaked through a vehicle entrance at a Los Angeles airport and boarded a jet, where he hung out smoking a cigarette.
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Chris Tolbert, 25, was booked for trespassing and vandalism at the Los Angeles Police Department’s Van Nuys Community Police Station Jail, said airport police spokesman Rob Pedregon. Police responded by evacuating all passengers from the gates, restaurants and corridors inside Terminal 3, sending them back to the ticketing area, Pedregon said.
Police shut down motor traffic throughout the airport for almost three hours, and almost 300 incoming and outbound flights were delayed.
But the commotion apparently spooked some passengers, prompting a couple of dozen to rush past a security checkpoint into the “sterile” screening area, while about 15 others bolted through an emergency exit onto the airfield, police said.
Authorities say, as police approached the auto, people in and near the terminal saw, and many started to move out of the way.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a statement that recent events around the world “have caused travelers everywhere to have a heightened level of concern for their safety”.
“The millions of people whose journeys begin, end, or pass through LAX should know that it has the finest, most prepared airport police force and federal security personnel in the nation – and that their safety and protection will always be our number-one priority”, he said.
The incident occurred a week after false reports of an active shooter at LAX triggered a panic, with passengers stampeding from terminals and, in some cases onto the tarmac.
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The driver was concerned and immediately called police.
