Man allegedly attacks TSA agents at New Orleans airport
A man who attacked two federal officers with wasp spray and a machete at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport Friday night has been shot, authorities said.
Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand said at a press conference that the suspect was 63-year-old Richard White.
White entered the airport, walked down a security line, was challenged by a Transportation Security Administration officer and sprayed that officer with wasp spray. White then struck another TSA officer with a machete.
TSA stated on Twitter that a female supervisory agent had been assaulted around 8 p.m. CT in the public checkpoint area.
"The officer was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries," the agency said.
A third TSA agent called a non-TSA officer for help. After a chase, the non-TSA officer fired at White three times.
White was wounded and taken into surgery at a hospital, the Associated Press reported. There was no update early Saturday on his condition.
A bystander might have been grazed during the shooting, Normand said.
The airport announced the incident on its Facebook page.
"There was a security incident in the area near concourse B of the airport terminal," the airport posted. "The site has been secured. We will release further information as it comes available."
The airport was closed for less than 20 minutes, Normand said.
New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said the airport was "secure" and the situation was "under control."
"There is no threat to the public at this time, and the airport is returning to normal operations," he said. "We expect Concourse B -- where the incident occurred -- to fully reopen tomorrow."
Louisiana Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne wrote on Twitter, "I'm asking for your prayers while we figure out just what happened at the Louis Armstrong International Airport this evening."
Farah Stockman, a staffer with the Boston Globe, was at the airport at the time of the incident and posted on Twitter that a man allegedly stabbed two people in a security line and was then shot by police. Stockman said a woman wearing blue and a man appeared to have been stabbed. Stockman described a scene of chaos at the facility, tweeting that she saw "women crying" and "lots of terrified people."
An airport spokeswoman could not immediately be reached Friday.
Contributing: Jessica Estepa, Paste BN; WWL-TV, New Orleans