All terminals and roads into the airport reopened by 11 p.m. Sunday, about two hours after the initial reports, officials said.
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Los Angeles airport police said on Monday they were investigating whether passengers had mistaken loud noises of some kind for gunfire, leading to panicked evacuations the night before at the huge hub of global travel. A false report of a shooter in the airport made police evacuated the area floor by floor to confirm later the shots, and the shooter was a false alarm.
Terminals were evacuated and flights halted Sunday night at Los Angeles International Airport after reports of a shooting, which proved to be false. Many other evacuees were standing on the airport tarmac, and abandoned bags littered some sidewalks.
According to LAX Public Relations Director Nancy Castles, 281 flights were delayed – 120 arrivals and 161 departures. Two flights were canceled.
Security officers ordered some people to lie on hallway floors as police searched terminals. The man was later released after telling police he was a performer on Hollywood Boulevard and was at the airport to pick up a passenger.
The Los Angeles Police late confirmed that no shots were fired and no gunman was found at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
“Once people started running, bags were slamming to the ground, people were falling down”, Stavert said.
“We didn’t hear (the loud noise), but people ran towards us yelling”. The airport’s official statement describes the crowd’s behavior more gingerly, informing us that travelers “self-evacuated onto the tarmac” and “rushed through federal security screening without being properly screened”. The reports were spurred by loud noises only, and police were still investigating to find the source of them, Neiman said.
The FAA lifted the ground stop after 30 minutes, around 10 p.m. Sunday (1 a.m. ET Monday), but by that time fights had been diverted. “There should be an easing of the situation”.
“It was pretty scary”, he told KNX.
However, a security incident did take place, because people and security forces at the airport precipitated to the exit aria.
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Authorities will be vigilant in determining the false alarm was not a diversion to create mayhem elsewhere, he said.
