A man attacked TSA agents with a machete and a can of wasp spray at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport before he was shot by a sheriff's office lieutenant as travelers scrambled for cover, police and passengers said.
Richard White, a 62-year-old tax driver, underwent surgery after he was shot three times Friday night, police said. An update on his condition wasn't immediately released Saturday.
Farah Stockman, a columnist for the Boston Globe visiting New Orleans for the weekend, said she saw people scrambling for safety as she walked out of the airport bathroom.
"Everybody was yelling and diving for cover and my husband said 'Stay where you are,'" she recalled. "It was just a lot of - a lot of terrified people in an airport not knowing what was going on."
@fstockman/Twitter
PHOTO: A photo posted to Twitter on March 20, 2015 shows the aftermath of an incident at New Orleans Airport.
According to police, White entered the TSA pre-line shortly before 8 p.m., where he was challenged by a TSA agent who was checking boarding passes to be scanned. He sprayed the agent in the face with the insecticide and continued past the checkpoint, said police.
Two more TSA agents then confronted White, said police. He sprayed one male agent with the wasp spray before pulling a machete from his waistband and swinging it at the agents.
"The male TSA officer grabbed a piece of luggage in order to defend himself," said Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand.
White chased one of the agents through the metal detector before he was shot by Lieutenant Heather Sylve, a 7-and-a-half year veteran of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, said police.
Normand said it did not appear that White was trying to get on a plane. A statement from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office said White's criminal history consisted of a few minor arrests.
Garret Laborde, who was trying to fly to Houston, called the incident "instant chaos."
"Everyone was ducking for cover. It's New Orleans. I knew they (the gunshots) were coming from the security checkpoint area," he said. "I immediately ducked down ... Then we waited."
A female TSA agent suffered a non life-threatening gunshot wound during the incident. At least three others at the airport were injured.
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The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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