Police searching for man who fled from Atlanta airport security checkpoint after
Officials believe the weapon that was discharged at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport was in a bag belonging to Kenny Wells, a passenger who, police say, ran away with the weapon in hand.
Wells, 42, is wanted on warrants accusing him of carrying a concealed a weapon at a commercial airport, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, discharging a firearm and reckless conduct, Atlanta Police Department Airport Precinct Commander Reginald L. Moorman said.
“We are actively pursuing this individual,” Moorman added.
It is illegal for people to take firearms through security checkpoints at airports in the US, according to Page Pate, a Georgia criminal defense attorney and constitutional lawyer.
At the Atlanta airport, 450 firearms have been detected at checkpoints so far this year, the TSA said Saturday.
Saturday’s incident unfolded around 1:30 p.m., when the passenger’s property was flagged for a “secondary search” after the X-ray screening at the security checkpoint detected a “prohibited item,” Robert Spinden, the TSA’s federal security director for Georgia, said during a news conference.
“During that secondary search, the passenger lunged into his property, grabbing a firearm that was located inside, which ultimately discharged,” Spinden said. “The passenger then fled the security checkpoint through an adjacent exit lane with his firearm.”
“We’re fortunate that when the firearm went off, nobody was seriously injured,” Spinden said.
The incident left three people with non-life-threatening injuries, TSA officials said. A source familiar with the matter told CNN those injured were not shot; they were hurt while the airport was evacuated. The firearm was discharged into the property of the person who brought the weapon, the source said.
All the injured were adults, two of whom were taken to the hospital, according to the source.
Airport spokesperson Andrew Gobeil characterized the discharge as accidental, adding the loud noise created a “sense of chaos.” The investigation into what happened is ongoing, he said.
The scare came a day after TSA screened more than 2.2 million airport travelers across the country on Friday — the highest checkpoint volume for a single day since the Covid-19 pandemic began, an agency spokesperson said.
Videos show chaos at airport
The weapon discharge spurred panic at Atlanta’s international airport, where federal aviation officials issued a brief ground stop for departing flights.
Video from inside the airport and eyewitness accounts illustrate the confusion and fear that was unleashed.
Another video shared on Twitter by Haşmet Asilkan from outside the airport shows many people running in a frenzy as someone is heard yelling for people…
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