[STARTRIBUNE] Authorities say the machete-wielding man who was shot at New Orleans' international airport after trying to attack passengers and security agents was carrying explosives at the time.
Sheriff Newell Normand said suspect Richard White, who was shot three times by a security agent late Friday after approaching a security checkpoint spraying insecticide and brandishing a machete, was also carrying a bag loaded with six Molotov cocktails -- six Mason jars with cloth wicks soaked in gasoline.
There was also a barbeque lighter and a letter opener in the bag, Normand said at a presser at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. Residue from smoke bombs was also found near White's body.
Normand says White is hospitalized with gunshot wounds and is currently sleeping soundly "unconscious."
The sheriff suggested that the suspect has had "mental health" issues. His family has been cooperating with the investigation.
The suspect, 63, is a Jehovah's Witness and has refused "certain types of medical care," Normand said.
Don't touch me man! The bleeding will stop on it's own.
"Fortunately, he didn't seriously injure anybody," Normand said.
| ABSee adds, courtesy of Besoeker: |
Machete-Wielding Man at New Orleans Airport Tango Uniform
[ABSee] A man who allegedly attacked TSA agents with a machete and a can of wasp spray at the New Orleans international airport before he was shot by a sheriff's lieutenant died today, officials said.
Richard White, 62, had been taken to a hospital where he underwent surgery, according to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office. He was listed in critical condition and unconscious Saturday, and died later Saturday afternoon, the Sheriff's Office said.
Lt. Heather Slyve, a deputy sheriff stationed at the checkpoint, fired three rounds, striking White in the left chest area, the left facial area and the left thigh.
A TSA officer who was fleeing was shot in her upper arm. A traveler sustained a graze wound to his arm.
Witnesses reported 3-4 shots - Lt. Slyve did a pretty good job - 3 in the perp & one in a TSA agent. |