LOS ANGELES – A loud auto crash that some passengers thought was shots being fired and an anonymous call reporting a gunman prompted evacuations Friday night at two terminals of Los Angeles International Airport, officials said.
A woman driving on the airport’s arrivals loop at about 7:30 p.m. lost control of her SUV, hitting another woman who was walking on a sidewalk before slamming into a parking garage across the roadway from Terminal 5, Los Angeles police Sgt. Mark Guardado said.
People are still nervous following an airport shooting exactly three weeks ago in which a gunman killed a security officer and injured three other people.
“With what recently just occurred here, everybody’s still a little bit on edge,” Guardado said.
Sounds from the crash spurred reports of gunfire among the passengers inside the terminal, many of whom ran outside, though there were no official orders there to evacuate, LAX spokeswoman Nancy Castles said in a statement.