Terminals at Los Angeles International Airport were evacuated briefly before police determined that reports of gunfire were “false alarm” at the USA airport.
Advertisement
Now, people in Terminal 4 were in full panic mode as people ran for any exits they could find and spread the word on social media as well.
Passengers who fled in panic after hearing the noises slowly filtered back to the busy airport, as the departure and arrival areas of the central terminal that were closed for a police sweep were re-opened.
Airport officials said that a person wearing a Zorro costume was detained during the incident, but it wasn’t yet clear if the person had any connection to the evacuation.
But after sweeping the terminals police reported there was no gunman found and no shots fired.
Officers are working to determine the source of the noises.
Coming so soon after the JFK scare, the LAX incident is sure to stoke concerns about whether airports are adequately prepared to handle an active shooter situation.
“I don’t know”, the man dressed as Zorro, who did not reveal his name, said. The scare at LAX came just weeks after panic and evacuations at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, which was also sparked by a false alarm. He said he was nonthreatening and posed for pictures and hugged a woman before walking outside the terminal, where he was confronted by police. By the time the lockdown was over, there had been 281 flight delays, 27 flight diversions, two flight cancellations, and at least one injury.
“I saw people running faster than I’ve ever seen people run just to get out of the way”, Nguyen said.
All terminals resumed operations around 11 p.m.
Officers detained the man and later released him after determining that his sword was plastic, Pedregon said.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it is temporarily holding all Los Angeles-bound flights that have yet to leave airports in Minnesota or anywhere west of it.
Advertisement
Officers with rifles stormed the airport, panicked travelers in five terminals evacuated or pushed through security.
