A security panic that crippled Los Angeles International Airport and sent hundreds of passengers fleeing from terminals was triggered by reports of gunfire that proved false but were amplified by word-of-mouth and social media, police said on Monday.
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The initial call came in moments after airport police had responded to separate reports of a man wearing a black cape and mask and carrying a sword in the baggage area of an adjacent terminal, according to airport police spokesman Robert Pedregon.
Latest tweets say police officers saying they can not find any significant incident. Security said “shots fired”. Officials said Sunday night that loud noises spurred the reports, and police are still investigating their source.
Recent false alarm scares in U.S. airports have exposed the lack of training and preparation for large evacuations of people in public areas, travel experts told NBC News.
People immediately started looking at social media, where they saw reports that there was an active shooter, Rosenbusch told the AP. The chain reaction turned into a panic as crowds bolted.
The scare created a mess, with three terminals shut down, roads closed and flights held in the air and on the ground, but no one was hurt. One man was frantic saying there was a shooter..
Police officers, including one with a shotgun, eventually led passengers out of the terminal, through a security gate and into a parking lot, where several hundred people waited. About 280 flights were delayed, at least 27 planes diverted and two flights canceled, airport spokeswoman Nancy Castles said.
Officers with rifles stormed the airport but uncovered no evidence of a gunman or shots fired.
USA airport security officials have been on heightened alert in recent months after deadly attacks at global airports in Belgium and Turkey.
Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection agents were continuing past the end of their shifts to screen passengers whose departure was delayed and those arriving for delayed flights, she said. “So you want to go in with your guns drawn, but that adds fuel to the fire”.
“Just the sound of people yelling and screaming to run, sheer panic and I had my things on my lap and I just jumped up and started moving with them and running”, Nowak said.
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Motor vehicle traffic was halted at the horseshoe-shaped central terminal, and flights were halted on the south side of the airport as police searched for possible suspects or signs of gunfire, Pedregon said. Police and airport personnel hustled Stavert and others from the scene and told them to drop to the floor when they were deeper into the airport.
