The incident occurred around 1:30 p.m. November 21st, when a “prohibited item” was detected in a passenger’s property while going through the X-ray screening at the security checkpoint, Robert Spinden, the Transportation Security Administration’s federal security director for Georgia, said in a news conference. The property was flagged for a “secondary search,” he said.
“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.
A source familiar with the matter told CNN those injured were not shot; they were hurt while the airport was evacuated.
At the Atlanta airport, 450 firearms have been detected at checkpoints so far this year, the TSA said Saturday.
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