Hundreds of passengers waiting in line were ordered to take cover at Atlanta Airport as an armed woman stabbed three people on a rampage through the south terminal.
Video filmed by one passenger showed police and airport staff trying to reason with the woman as she ranted and swung her knife wildly just before 5pm on Wednesday.
She had already stabbed a man at the airport’s west crossover before moving to the security area where she was challenged by police.
‘During the encounter the female suspect stabbed an adult female and then an APD lieutenant as he attempted to take her into custody,’ Atlanta Police said in a statement.
Some passengers watched with amazement from behind the relative security of a glass barrier as the scene unfolded next to them.
But others waiting for security checks were ordered to the floor in case she had a gun or a bomb in her backpack.
Police and airport staff approach the woman who has already stabbed one man outside
Passengers waiting in line for security are ordered to take cover in case the woman is more heavily armed
‘It’s very dynamic folks,’ an airport security officer warned them, ‘so we’re going to get you off here as quickly as we can.
‘I don’t believe you are in any imminent danger.’
Sarah Nagem, an editor with Border Belt Independent in North Carolina, was in the queue and said staff described it to them as a ‘domestic incident’.
The police officer, reportedly a 71-year-old retiree who had returned to active service, suffered a severed artery after being stabbed in the thigh.
A female ticket clerk was also stabbed before the woman was overpowered and arrested by a second police officer, leaving a trail of blood across the booking hall.
‘When we did encounter her, there had already been that stabbing that occurred,’ said Atlanta Police Sergeant John Chafee.
‘There’s a little bit of moment that happened there.
‘It doesn’t appear that there’s a connection between her and them, but that’s something we’ll be looking into.’
The kneeling passengers cheered as they were told she had been arrested and allowed to get back up off the floor.
Police said they did not know the motive for the attack but expected to find out by the time they brought charges.
All three victims were taken to Grady Memorial Hospital where they were conscious and in a comfortable condition last night.
Atlanta Airport posted an all-clear about 40 minutes after the initial stabbing and it is not thought that any flights were delayed.
‘The areas where the crime scenes are blocked off, but there’s multiple different entrances that can be used at the airport,’ said Sgt Chafee.
At one point she seemed to threaten passengers watching from just feet away behind a glass screen
Police eventually overpowered the woman after she had stabbed three people including an officer
Not all the passengers were so sanguine.
‘It ain’t safe even in Atlanta airport,’ tweeted former Bengals offensive tackle Willie Anderson.
‘Keep ya head on a Swivel. Sad situation that happen earlier. I hope people are ok.
‘I was on the other side. My boy was down on the floor with everyone else. They have to do something about these lines.’
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