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Man shot after attacking TSA agent with machete at Armstrong Int'l Airport
Sheriff: 63-year-old 'non-responsive' after shooting
UPDATED 9:30 PM CDT Mar 20, 2015
Airport shooting
KENNER, La. —Shots were fired Friday night inside Armstrong International Airport, prompting a massive police response.
Multiple witnesses told WDSU they saw dozens of vehicles speeding to the airport following the incident, which happened about 8 p.m. in Concourse B.
One person said authorities had essentially locked down the airport, preventing those inside from leaving.
A journalist for the Boston Globe was among those who saw what happened. She tweeted: Just witnessed craziest thing: dead body at #NewOrleans airport. Man stabbed 2 pple at security line shot by police.
She then posted a photo of a man lying face down on the ground, surrounded by officers.
Moments later, she tweeted: They began taking him out on a stretcher.
A spokesperson for Jefferson Parish told WDSU reporter Gina Swanson it was not known how many people were involved.
About an hour and 15 minutes after the shooting, Sheriff Newell Normand identified the man involved at Richard White, 63, of Kenner.
Normand said White sprayed a TSA officer with a can of wasp spray, breached a security checkpoint and sprayed a second TSA agent in the face, then struck another agent with a machete. That officer defended himself by using a piece of luggage.
A chase ensued, with White pursuing that agent. The officer called for assistance, and another officer fired three times, striking White in the chest, the thigh and the face.
A bystander suffered a graze wound to the arm. Normand said a few others sustained minor wounds in the chaos.
White was taken to a hospital and was unresponsive.
The TSA officer attacked with the machete was being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Normand said White had no significant criminal history and has worked as a taxi driver in New Orleans.
"We don't know what the motivation is," Normand said. "It is still early. We're still running that out to try to determine anything about this particular individual."
Detectives were still interviewing witnesses, Normand added.
Kenner Mayor Mike Yenni said he was notified of the situation at 8:05 p.m. and he went to the airport, where he saw a "great response" by federal and local agencies.
He said local law enforcement had recently participated in an "active shooter" exercise to prepare for events like this.
WDSU reporter Travers Mackel spoke with two former New Orleans Saints players -- Robert Meachem and Lance Moore -- who were at the airport when the shooting happened. The two men described the situation as "wild."
Man shot after attacking TSA agent with machete at Armstrong Int'l Airport | New Orleans - WDSU Home