LOS ANGELES – Following a report of an active shooter at Los Angeles International Airport Sunday night, police closed traffic to the airport, and the Federal Aviation Administration put a temporary hold on inbound flights. However, early reports from The Associated Press state that police were unable to find a shooter and attributed the report of shots that led to a mass exodus from the airport to “loud noises.”
At approximately 9:07 p.m. PDT, the LAX Police Department tweeted that traffic had been closed due to “police activity.” Less than 10 minutes later, they tweeted that it was the result of an active shooter investigation.
Reports of active shooter at LAX unconfirmed. Police investigating @flyLAXairport pic.twitter.com/NYpjoN54tV
— LA Airport PD (@LAAirportPD) August 29, 2016
The Associated Press reports that in addition to closing traffic to the terminal, no flights were being allowed to land at the airport. The Federal Aviation Administration said it was temporarily holding all Los Angeles-bound flights that have yet to leave airports in Minnesota or anywhere west of it.
Social media showed several people evacuating the airport amid rumors of the shooter.
Passenger Scott McDonald said he was getting off a plane in the middle of the incident and was told by the crew to get back on. He said looking out the window he could see many evacuees gathered out on the tarmac, a strange sight even for someone who travels almost constantly.
“I’ve never seen passengers, just normal people, on the tarmac anywhere in the United States,” McDonald told KCAL-TV.
At 10:15 PDT, The Associated Press reported that Los Angeles police spokesman Andy Neiman said the reports were spurred by loud noises only and that police were still investigating to find the source of them.
While flights were reportedly seen taking off again, as of 10:32 PDT, LAX reported that some terminals were still being cleared and advised travelers to contact their airlines for flight status.
T1, T2 & TBIT cleared & repopulated. Passengers will be re-screened. North side terminals are I n the process of being cleared
— LAX Airport (@flyLAXairport) August 29, 2016
ANDREW DALTON of The Associated Press contributed to this report
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