The Los Angeles airport had an actual shooting in November 2013, when a man opened fire in the terminal, killing a security agent and wounding three other people.
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Cell phone video from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) captured the tense moment armed Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers along with a K-9 officer detained someone dressed as the famous vigilante Zorro.
Believing the sword may be real, officers detained and questioned the man.
Maggard said it has not been determined whether someone intentionally made the false report to test airport security.
Later, reports of an active shooter began to spread throughout the airport, but it remains unclear if those reports were related directly to the man in the costume. Traffic congestion continued for several hours around the Central Terminal Area, where no vehicles could access the terminal.
“When you don’t have security, don’t be surprised that somebody can drive you insane with a false alarm”, Yeffet said.
Twelve of those flights were diverted to Ontario International Airport.
Operations were returning to normal Monday, but major flight delays were reported. The delay lasted about 30 minutes, the airport said, and then travelers re-entered and were rescreened.
“It happened right here at the domestic area”, she said from inside LAX while it was still on lockdown.
“We are grateful it was not actually an active shooter”, he said. “We will continue to investigate throughout the day”.
People fled the airport after loud noises were heard that sounded like gunfire. But authorities said a search of the airport was done and there was no evidence of a gunman or shots being fired, according to the airport’s Twitter account.
A ground stop was ordered at the airport just after 9 p.m. local time. Security said ‘shots fired. “There should be an easing of the situation. Flights are still arriving but passengers should check the status of their flights”. “Others say they just heard ‘run!'” he said.
“It was pretty scary”, he told KNX.
By about 10:50 p.m., departure and arrival roadways into the Central Terminal Area reopened.
The Los Angeles airport, known as LAX, is the seventh busiest airport worldwide in terms of traffic.
Los Angeles police searched the buildings and found no shooting occurred, police said.
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