TSA Agents Attacked With Machete, Wasp Spray
NEW ORLEANS, March 21 (UPI) — An elderly man was shot multiple times at New Orleans’ Louis Armstrong International Airport late Friday after he attacked three Transportation Security Administration agents with a machete and a can of insecticide, authorities said.
Police said the suspect, identified as Richard White, approached the TSA agents in the airport’s B concourse at about 7:30 p.m. local time. As he spoke with one who was checking boarding passes, he allegedly raised a can of insecticide and sprayed the officer in the face, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported.
Officials say White then sprayed another TSA agent and went after a third with the machete. Moments later, a police officer stationed nearby shot the man in the face, chest and thigh, investigators said. His condition is unknown.
Initially, a police official said one of the agents was cut by the machete but later clarified that and said she was struck by one of the deputy’s bullets during the gunfire. A bystander was grazed by a bullet, officials said.
During the assault, dozens of bystanders scurried for cover as officials worked to subdue the suspect. No bystanders were seriously hurt — although some received minor injuries while scrambling to flee, NBC News reported.
The conditions of the TSA officers was not immediately known, but their injuries are not believed to be life threatening.
“They tried tackling him to the ground,” witness Calen Bedford said. “And the man with the knife and the TSA agents ran into a metal detector and pushed it over.”
A motive for the attack is not yet known, although police said the 63-year-old White did not have a significant criminal record. Investigators said they will look into the possibility of mental illness.
The airport was shut down for about 20 minutes after the incident. The suspect apparently lived about a mile away from the airport, the Times-Picayune report said.
“There was a security incident near concourse B of the airport. The site has been secured,” Louis Armstrong International Airport said via Twitter.
New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said in a statement that Concourse B, which serves Southwest Airlines, will fully reopen Saturday.
“TSA agents, law enforcement officers and airport officials all acted quickly to stop the perpetrator and secure the scene,” he said. “Our thoughts are with our security officials injured in the line of duty, and we wish them a full and speedy recovery.”
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