Atlanta police said they’re trying to track down a man who allegedly showed up at the airport, went to a terminal, entered a bathroom, took off his shirt and emerged with a handgun. The weapon went off as the man loaded it, but no one was injured.
How did the gun discharge?
Authorities say the gun went off just after 8 p.m. Friday night in the vicinity of Security Aviation Terminal 2. The terminal is located on the Westside of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and it is expected to reopen Saturday morning.
What’s known:
Police say the man entered the bathroom and was showing a weapon that had been concealed in his shirt to a passenger. He then went back to his seat, where another passenger was sitting on a United Airlines flight waiting to depart, according to police. That passenger said she was seated next to the passenger she said the man had introduced himself to earlier.
The passenger said the man raised his shirt to show the handgun and there was a brief, unsuccessful struggle for the weapon.
“Then, just as the passenger left the bathroom, the gun discharged,” police spokeswoman Kay Lester told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
She said no one was injured.
A spokesperson from U.S. Transportation Security Administration told the AJC that they are aware of the incident.
What hasn’t been said:
Atlanta police have not released any information about the name of the man, which has not been released to the public.
It’s not clear how the man managed to escape the scene after the gun went off, or where he might be.