Police in Atlanta are searching for a man who fled from an Atlanta airport security checkpoint after a weapon was discharged on Saturday.
The incident resulted in flights being temporarily grounded during one of the biggest weekends for travel at one of the busiest airports in the world.
Authorities investigating believe the weapon discharged at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport was in a bag that belonged to 42-year-old Jenny Wells.
Police reported that Wells ran away from the scene with a weapon in his hand, CNN reported.
The Transportation Security Administration has seen a lot of weapons this year, confiscating 4,650 firearms, most of which were loaded, in the first 10 months of this year.
The record for firearms confiscated at security checkpoints was set in 2019 at 4,432, a record broken this year in two fewer months.
Related
Department Airport Precinct Commander Reginald L. Moorman shared in a press conference that authorities "are actively pursuing this individual."
Moorman added that Wells is wanted on several warrants that accuse him of carrying a concealed weapon at a commercial airport, possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, discharging a firearm, and reckless conduct.
The incident occurred at 1:30 p.m. as the passenger's baggage was flagged for a "secondary search," with security finding a "prohibited item" as it went through scanning machines, according to the TSA's federal security director of Georgia, Robert Spinden.
Related
Spiden, in a Saturday news conference, went on to add precisely what happened when the secondary search started.
"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."
Spiden added that everyone was "fortunate" nobody was "seriously injured" when the firearm went off. However, TSA officials did share that three people left the incident with non-life-threatening injuries.
Those injured were taken to a nearby hospital and are in stable condition, CNN reported.
