Reports Of Gunman Grounds LAX Flights, Prompts Airport Evacuation

LOS ANGELES, CA —Reports of a gunman forced the grounding of flights at Los Angeles International Airport for about 50 minutes Thursday night and sent hundreds of panicked people fleeing onto an airport tarmac. Two suspects were in custody Friday morning.

The scare occurred at about 7:30 p.m. when Los Angeles Airport Police Division officers were called to Terminal 1 on reports of a person armed with a firearm, according to an airport official. When police arrived and detained a person, they found that no shots had been fired. There was no gun found at the scene, according to authorities.

However, the reports of the possible gunman caused about 300 people inside the airport to flee onto the tarmac, according to an airport official. Two people were injured during the evacuation and were treated at the scene by Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics. One of the injured people was taken to a hospital in unknown condition.

Shortly after 9 p.m. Thursday, police announced they had detained a second person for questioning.

Authorities released few details about the chaotic scene. Lt. Karla Rodriguez, an airport police spokeswoman, told the Los Angeles that one of the two men detained had been chasing the other man. The man being chased may have thought his pursuer was armed, she said.

The reports prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to ground all flights at LAX, though an airport official said about 8:20 p.m. on Thursday that flights on the south side of the airport were allowed to resume service.

Flights on the north side of the airport were set to remain grounded for an unknown duration while authorities investigated the incident.

Transportation Security Administration personnel was also called to the scene to move people back into Terminal 1.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.