False gunman report causes airport chaos
LOS ANGELES — Reports of a gunman opening fire that turned out to be false caused panicked evacuations at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday night, while flights to and from the airport saw major delays.
A search through terminals brought no evidence of a gunman or shots fired, Los Angeles police spokesman Andy Neiman said. The reports were spurred by loud noises only, and police were still investigating to find the source of them.
Airport officials said that a person wearing a Zorro costume was detained during the incident, but it wasn’t yet clear whether the person had any connection to the evacuation.
The incident stirred chaos as hundreds of people rushed from terminals on to sidewalks or the tarmac. And it left a mess with three terminals shut down, roads closed and flights held.
All terminals and roads into the airport had been reopened by 11 p.m., about two hours after the initial reports, officials said. But massive backup faced travelers in their cars and in security lines. Passengers who fled had to be rescreened through security.
When the incident began, scores of people could be seen on social media and on TV news running from the terminal out on to the sidewalks and streets as police with rifles out stormed terminals. Many other evacuees were standing on the airport tarmac, and abandoned bags littered some sidewalks.
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 waited for the terminal to reopen.
Passenger Scott McDonald said he was getting off a plane in the middle of the incident and was told by the crew to get back on. He said looking out the window he could see many evacuees gathered out on the tarmac.
“I’ve never seen passengers, just normal people, on the tarmac anywhere in the United States,” McDonald told KCAL-TV.
The incident came just days after another false alarm led to a panicked evacuation of Kennedy Airport in New York. Police were investigating whether a celebration of the Olympics led to noises that were misinterpreted as gunfire.
