Reports of an active shooter brought a scene of chaos to Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday night, bringing travel to a halt and causing delays to pile up into Monday morning.
Advertisement
Los Angeles police searched the buildings and found no shooting occurred, police said.
The false alarm came as police investigate whether a raucous celebration August 14 at JFK Airport led to noises people believed were shots.
There were 281 arrivals and departures that were delayed, according to the airport.
By 11:03 p.m. airport officials said “all terminals have been cleared” and passengers were being told to go through security screening again.
Video shows at least six officers confronting the man, who is dressed as fictional crime fighter Zorro, outside Terminal 7 around 8:40 p.m. Sunday. The man was detained, questioned and released.
CNN’s Paul Vercammen, reporting from the airport, said the man was involved in cosplay, or costume play.
“We are grateful it was not actually an active shooter”, he said.
The scare came two months after police temporarily evacuated a terminal at New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport after reports of gunfire.
The central terminal’s arrival and departures areas as well as all other terminals re-opened after about two hours. After an all-clear order, travelers re-entered and were rescreened.
What followed was pandemonium similar to an incident two weeks ago at JFK Airport in NY when a raucous celebration of an Olympics victory may have led to noises people believed were shots. “No shots fired. No injuries”.
The shooting scare on Sunday night, which marked the worst security disruption in almost three years at the second-busiest USA airport, began with police receiving a call reporting gunshots fired at a United Airlines gate inside Terminal 8, police said. Twelve of those flights diverted to Ontario International Airport.
Investigators are attempting to determine what prompted the first of several emergency calls Sunday night that falsely reported a gunman at Los Angeles International Airport. “It’s a plastic sword”, the man could be heard saying.
Surveillance video reviews supported the police’s confirmation on the absence of active gunfire, contrary to the reports.
Advertisement
About five minutes before the false rumors spread, police responded to reports of a man dressed as Zorro and carrying a sword in Terminal 7.
