Panicked passengers rushed on to the tarmac at Los Angeles international airport (LAX) on Monday, after a false announcement warned that a man with a gun was on the loose.
The “misinformed announcement” went out over the airport’s public address system in Terminal 2, prompting some scared passengers to flee on to the airfield, LAX police said in a statement.
Police said everyone who “self-evacuated” following the announcement had been screened and was under observation during the entire incident.
The false alarm appeared to be linked to a car chase happening outside the terminal involving an unarmed male driver who airport police said may have been trying to kill himself.
Police pursued the driver to the departures level, until he eventually stopped at Terminal 2. The Los Angeles fire department was called and the man was transported to a local hospital for treatment.
A police statement issued later in the day said: “A citizen walking by the parking area of Japan Airlines Cargo observed a vehicle with a garden hose coming out of the exhaust pipe leading to the rear passenger window. The citizen then notified airport police dispatch. When airport police arrived on scene, the victim was seen writing what appeared to be a suicide note.”
The police pursued the driver to the departures level until he eventually stopped at Terminal 2. The Los Angeles fire department was called and the man was transported to a local hospital for treatment.
It was not immediately clear how the chase led to the announcement and how many passengers reached the tarmac. A statement from airport police said passengers who fled were rounded up within minutes and were able to return to the terminal.
The airport has suffered shooting incidents before. In November 2013, a lone gunman opened fire with a high-powered rifle at LAX, killing a security agent and injuring at least two other people. In July 2002, a gunman opened fire at a ticketing counter of an Israeli airline, in an attack that killed two and injured four.
