Suspect shot, in custody at LAX after TSA agent fired upon, killed
A TSA agent shot Friday at the Los Angeles International Airport is dead, according to an intelligence source briefed by Los Angeles police and a federal source.
Almasala Travel News – Los Angeles (CNN) – Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center said it received three male victims from Los Angeles International Airport, where shootings occurred Friday. One arrived in critical condition, and two were listed in fair condition, the hospital said. The hospital did not say how they were injured.
A former Los Angeles Police Department ranking officer gave this account of Friday morning’s shooting, citing discussions with investigators: The shooter walked to the security checkpoint, pulled out a concealed assault rifle and shot the TSA agent; the shooter then went through the checkpoint, and a police officer shot the shooter. The source arrived at the scene shortly after the incident.
A gunman concealing an assault rifle walked up to a Los Angeles International Airport checkpoint and opened fire on a TSA agent Friday morning, but when the gunman passed the security point, he was shot and wounded by a police officer, a former ranking Los Angeles Police Department officer who was at the scene told CNN.
The gunfire sent travelers into a stampede, passengers said.
A total of 10 shots were fired, and two people — the gunman and the Transportation Security Administration agent — were wounded and taken to local hospitals, an intelligence source told CNN. Their conditions weren’t immediately available.
It was unclear in the immediate aftermath whether there were other suspects.
The gunman approached a checkpoint at Terminal 3 at 9:30 a.m. and began shooting at the TSA agent, according to the former LAPD officer who was at the scene.
The gunfire and the airport’s announcement of the incident provoked chaos among travelers on a busy morning, passengers said.
One of the busiest airports in the world was rendered a ghost town: The violence prompted evacuations of portions of LAX and led to a "ground stop" for arriving planes, said police and the Federal Aviation Administration.
Robert Perez, who was getting ready to take a Virgin Air flight, was taking a nap in the terminal when pandemonium erupted, he told CNN affiliate KCAL/KCBS.
"I heard a popping sound, and everybody was diving for cover," Perez told the station. "The TSA said there was a shooting in the terminal and evacuate the building."
At least 100 people came down a staircase. "Everybody started to panic," Perez said.
Fox Sports national columnist Bill Reiter was also at the airport during the gunfire. "After the initial burst of gunfire and hiding, people started jumping over one another, jumping off chairs, pushing each other. Chaos & fear," he said on his Twitter account.
The passengers were directed to board a bus and were taken to a smaller terminal, Perez told the affiliate.
Alex Neumann was at a food court, waiting to travel to Miami, when the incident unfolded. He said Terminal 2 was put into lockdown.
"People were running and people getting knocked down. There was luggage everywhere," Neumann said. "Mayhem is the best I can describe it."
Several police officers moved about the airport with guns drawn, he said. KCAL showed live video of three officers with rifles to their shoulders inspecting parked cars in an open-air parking lot.
The Los Angeles Fire Department was assisting with a "multi-patient" incident at Los Angeles International Airport, the department said Friday on Twitter.
Firefighters were laying tarps on the street at the airport, apparently for triage. Several ambulances were at the airport, and at least one person was loaded into one.
The area around the airport was jammed with cars as police shut down access to the airport Friday morning.
President Barack Obama has been briefed on the shooting and will continue to be updated, but the White House had no further information at this time on what happened, spokesman Jay Carney said Friday.
Authorities were interviewing about 100 witness, the intelligence source said.
A leader of the union representing TSA officers deplored the incident.
"We are sickened by reports of today’s shooting," American Federation of Government Employees National President J. David Cox Sr. said.
