Police shoot woman who had fired shots into ceiling at Dallas Love Field Airport, authorities say
By Eric Levenson, David Williams and Chuck Johnston, CNN
A woman allegedly fired several gunshots into the air at Dallas Love Field Airport in Texas on Monday before police shot her and took her into custody, Dallas Police said.
The incident began at about 11 a.m. when a 37-year-old woman arrived at the airport and went inside near the ticket counters, Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia said. She went to the bathroom and then exited wearing a hoodie, pulled out a handgun and began shooting, apparently aiming at the ceiling, he said.
An officer on scene shot her in a lower extremity and she was taken into custody and is in the hospital. No one else was injured, Garcia said.
Police identified the suspect as Portia Odufuwa in a statement. CNN has been unable to determine if Odufuwa has retained an attorney at this time.
The incident sparked chaos as people fled. Michael Loewinsohn had just arrived at the airport on a flight from Denver and was walking toward baggage claim when the chaos erupted.
“I saw a massive amount of people running up from security checkpoint and people yelling ‘shooter,'” Loewinsohn told CNN in a Twitter Direct Message. “TSA employees rushed us out of a side door and just started sprinting away from the building.”
Loewinsohn took video showing a number of people sitting on the ground between the building and the tarmac. “We’re just told there was a shooter and we are going to need to stay outside for a bit,” Loewinsohn said.
Johnny Mojica told CNN he was waiting for a flight at Gate 12 when he saw people running.
“A group of people were running and shouting ‘run,’ and those who were sitting down (including me) took cover near the end of our seats,” he told CNN.
He said that “everything is calm and safe inside the airport.” Mojica said he was now waiting to board a Southwest flight to San Antonio, Texas. He said airport officials were making announcements to help people recover items that were lost in the commotion. People around him were shaken up but safe, he said.
The Federal Aviation Administration put a ground stop in place at the airport due to security concerns. Operations were suspended for several hours Monday afternoon and after the stoppage ended, airport officials recommended in a tweet that passengers check with the airlines on their flight’s status.
Airport security checkpoint operations have also resumed, according to the Transportation Security Administration.
Dallas Love Field Airport is located about 6 miles northwest of downtown Dallas and primarily serves Southwest Airlines, its website states.
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CNN’s Ashley Killough and Amy Simonson contributed to this report.
