Just three weeks after a gunman opened fire at Los Angeles International Airport, there were reports of gunshots at LAX last night, but they turned out to be incorrect, sparked because of a car crash. There was also a separate report of a man carrying a gun, but that was incorrect as well.
Although there were no injuries at the airport, the reports still affected passengers and around 4,600 arriving and departing flights, reports KTLA. Sixty American Airlines and Delta flights were delayed. LAX operator Los Angeles World Airports said that the airport was expected to be up and running normal by 1:30 a.m. Saturday.
The series of chaotic incidents began at 7:30 p.m. Los Angeles police Sgt. Mark Guardado said that the car crash happened when a woman lost control of her SUV while driving to the airport arrivals, reports USA Today. She crashed into a parking garage near Terminal 5.
Local media reports suggested that the crash sounded like gunshots, so police sweeped Terminals 4 and 5. They quickly found that there were no fired shots.
Then, an anonymous caller reported that there was a man with a gun in Terminal 4. Responders found that the report was incorrect, but still, “out of an abundance of caution,” they ordered an evacuation of the terminal.
Last night’s incidents came just after a Nov. 1 incident in which TSA officer Gerardo I. Hernandez was shot and killed. Paul Anthony Ciancia was arrested and charged with murder.