“We are actively pursuing this individual,” Atlanta Police Maj. Reginald Moorman told a news conference following identifying the individual as 42-year-old Kenny Wells.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said Saturday’s incident happened following a ‘prohibited item’ was identified in a passenger’s luggage by an X-ray machine at a checkpoint. control. When a security guard opened the compartment containing the weapon, “the passenger rushed into the bag and grabbed the firearm, which then discharged. “The passenger then fled the area, running out the airport exit,” the TSA said, adding that the officer instructed the passenger not to touch the property.
Dozens of passengers took cover, and three were injured, none of these injuries having been caused by the gunfire. One person was injured in a fall and two others complained of shortness of breath, police said. Shortly following the incident, at around 1:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. GMT), the airport said on Twitter that there was “no active shooter”, adding that “there is no danger to passengers or employees. The police gave the green light shortly before 3 p.m.
Global air traffic hub
The loud noise scared off many people, who knocked over suitcases and poles to escape, footage released by CNN shows. You might hear people shouting “Get down!” Come down! while others slid across the floor. Some people took refuge in restaurants at the airport, while others ran onto the tarmac. The incident happened during one of the busiest weekends of the year, days before the Thanksgiving holiday.
Since the start of the year, the TSA has detected more than 450 firearms at checkpoints at Atlanta airport alone, the hub of global air traffic and ranked among the busiest with more than 100 million annual travelers in mean.
A controversial law in Georgia, of which Atlanta is the capital, passed in 2014 allows people to carry authorized firearms at airports, although they do not pass through security checkpoints, as well as at bars, schools and churches. Under federal law, it is illegal to carry a weapon in a TSA controlled area. “Firearms, especially loaded firearms, present an unnecessary risk at checkpoints,” the TSA said.
Passengers can travel with firearms in checked baggage if they are not loaded, locked and stowed in a hard case. The weapon must also be declared.