At approximately 9 p.m., central time Friday night at a terminal at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, a 63-year-old male suspect identified as Richard White was evacuated Friday, after he had attacked TSA agents with a machete. According to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, he was shot by a police officer after he had approached a TSA agent and had sprayed the person in the face with a can of insecticide.
According to Sheriff Newell Normand, who identified the suspect as Richard White for CBS affiliate WW-TV in New Orleans, the TSA agent was not the only person harmed that night. After White got past the first agent, he headed for the second TSA agent, and again sprayed wasp spray before pulling a machete and striking a third officer.
According to the CBS News, White had grabbed a piece of luggage for protection and he had called out for help from a Jefferson Parish sheriff’s officer who was on duty at that time nearby.
Although White was initially described as “unresponsive” at the scene of the mayhem, he is still alive and will be undergoing surgery. Authorities are continuing to wage whether his motives requite mental health investigation. Currently, the Checkpoint B of Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport is being evaluated for bystanders who were contacted with duly bodily injuries and harm. It was reported through CBS News that a bystander suffered what Normand describes as a graze wound to the arm and other people had suffered minor injuries who stood in White’s point of attack.
According to a statement that Mayor Mitch Landrieu released to RT.com about the situation, he said that everything “is under control and the airport is secure.” It seems like White is no longer a progressive threat to the public at this time, and that the terminal at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport will be fully reopened tomorrow.