An accidental discharge of a firearm at the Atlanta-Hartsfield airport resulted in scenes of chaos as frightened passengers scurried for cover. The incident, which was initially thought to be the result of an active shooter, was the result of an unintentional discharge.
On Saturday, Atlanta Hartsfield Airport released an official statement on their twitter feed noting about the purported active shooter incident:
“There was an accidental discharge at the Airport. There is no danger to passengers or employees. An investigation is ongoing, more information will be published on this channel. At approximately 1:30 pm today a weapon accidentally discharged at ATL’s security screening area. There is NOT an active shooter at the airport. APD is on the scene.”
Scenes of chaos, however, erupted as passengers at the busy airport ducked for cover in panic. Multiple tweets have surfaced showing some of the initial moments after a reported “3 pops” were heard in the security screening area.
One passenger who was in the terminal tweeted, “I’m at the Atlanta airport. I was waiting for tram below the escalators after security. There was yelling and people rushing down the escalator from the security area. Then rumors of an active shooter. Train came, we all got on. That’s what I know. Terminal is peaceful”
A mayoral candidate also tweeted about the incident, noted that he’d spoken with the airport’s general manager and confirmed there was not an active shooter incident underway.
Panic turned to frustration as passengers who were evacuated or held in certain locations became irritated and anxious about resuming their travel plans.
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