First Posted: 1/7/2015
COLUMBUS (AP) — A Columbus airport police officer fatally shot a man during a confrontation Wednesday afternoon just outside the terminal, an airport official said.
The man, whose name wasn’t released, was shot at about 1 p.m. just outside the departures area of the Port Columbus International Airport, said David Whitaker, a Columbus Regional Airport Authority vice president. The officer was not injured.
“There was a threat, and we were responding to that,” said Whitaker, who didn’t have details of what happened before the officer fired at the suspect. He said the man did not fire at the officer.
“It was indeed a confrontation,” Whitaker said. The man was believed to have arrived at the airport alone, but Whitaker didn’t know if he was scheduled to be on a flight.
The departures area was blocked off Wednesday afternoon, but the airport said flights were running as scheduled. Departing passengers were directed to enter through the arrivals area.
An involved vehicle was being searched for explosives as a precaution, Whitaker said. A perimeter around that area could lead to some flight delays for Delta passengers, he said.
“We don’t think that there’s an ongoing threat at the moment,” Whitaker said. “We believe the situation is contained as I’ve described.”
Matt Diehl, of Columbus, was waiting to board a flight in a growing crowd. He had two hours before it took off for Philadelphia for business, but he wasn’t sure if it wouldn’t be delayed.
“I’m keeping my fingers crossed, but at this point I’m not optimistic,” he said.
