LA airport shooting UPDATE: Gunman Paul Ciancia in custody after killing one person
One person has been killed and seven people were wounded, one critically, during Los Angeles International Airport shooting, officials say.
The Transportation Security Administration said a number of its employees were injured, one fatally.
A lone suspect – whom law enforcement officials named to US media as 23-year-old Paul Ciancia – was wounded by police and detained.
Flights in and out of the busy airport were temporarily halted.
LA Airport police chief Patrick Gannon told reporters a “lone shooter” came into Terminal 3 at 9:20 local time.
The suspect “pulled an assault rifle out of a bag and began to open fire in the terminal”, he said.
One person has been killed and seven people were wounded during Los Angeles International Airport shooting
Paul Ciancia then proceeded to a security screening area and continued shooting.
Witness Brian Keech told the Associated Press news agency he had heard “about a dozen gunshots” from inside the security gate at Terminal 3.
Authorities actively engaged the shooter, during which time the suspect was wounded and later arrested, Patrick Gannon added.
The Transportation Security Administration later issued a statement reporting “multiple Transportation Security Officers were shot, one fatally”.
A local hospital official told reporters one of the injured was listed in critical condition, while two other victims were listed in fair condition.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) barred all flights landing at the airport during the incident, and outbound flights were delayed.
LA Mayor Eric Garcetti said those inside the airport were now safe and outbound flights would resume in areas other than Terminal 3.
Inbound flights were currently arriving at half the normal rate, officials said.
President Barack Obama expressed concern about the shooting, but said he would leave law enforcement to talk about it.
Witness Brian Adamick told the Los Angeles Times he and several other passengers went through a Terminal 3 emergency exit and on to the tarmac during the incident.
“While I was on the tarmac, I heard two gunshots from the same area where the people had been running and screaming,” Brian Adamick told the newspaper.
[youtube qbr4wRJxtQo 650]
[youtube RT9XpHF7-so 650]