“Due to initial reports of an active shooter in Terminal eight at LAX, passengers in several LAX terminals self-evacuated onto the tarmac and rushed through federal security screening without being properly screened”, the airport explained in a statement.
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Twenty-seven flights were diverted to other airports Sunday, although most eventually made their way back to LAX, said LAX spokeswoman Nancy Castles.
“People immediately started looking at social media, where they saw reports that there was an active shooter”, Rosenbusch told the AP. Both episodes began with reports of what were vaguely described as “loud noises” (in NY, it was rumored to have been cheering over a Usain Bolt victory in the Rio Olympics), which were then somehow taken to be gun shots, setting off a mass exodus of fleeing passengers and airport workers.
The main terminal was shut down to traffic, Los Angeles Police Department said. The man was released.
Hundreds of panicked travelers and employees bolted from five of the nine main LAX passenger terminals, some pouring through security gates onto the tarmac and others out of ticketing and baggage areas into the street.
“Word spread quickly through the terminals by word-of-mouth, social media, and additional calls were made to Airport Police about an active shooter in other terminals, with some reporting having heard gunshots”.
Police have confirmed that reports of an active shooter that panicked passengers Sunday night inside several terminals at Los Angeles International Airport were false, authorities said. A review of closed circuit television footage found no evidence of the alleged gun shots-and police were at a loss to explain what had set off the melee.
The incident triggered two flight cancellations, 27 flight diversions, and 281 flight delays.
Traffic on the upper departure level was flowing smoothly, but traffic on the lower arrival level was congested this morning, she said. “Next thing they said lay down, and I did”. Police responded to a 911 call of shots fired.
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. “They said I was cool, I was clear, it was misunderstanding”.
Many people remained calm, but some were running away from the terminal clearly frightened.
By 11 p.m., all terminals were reopened and passengers were able to go about and travel again.
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It’s similar to a false alarm that led to a panicked evacuation two weeks ago at Kennedy Airport in NY, when a boisterous celebration of the Olympics may have been misinterpreted as gunfire, authorities say.
