ATLANTA — The all clear has been given at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport after a suspicious package was reported in the South terminal baggage claim.
Police say a K9 alerted them to a piece of luggage. An explosives team was brought in to check out the unattended bag.
Both terminals and the atrium were evacuated for a short time out of an abundance of caution, airport officials said.
Panic #ATLAirport TSA instructed everyone to run and clear main terminal pic.twitter.com/XuXNJtgsbV
— Jimmy Alignay (@jimmyalignay) March 23, 2016
The actions taken were per normal protocol, they said.
Travelers say there was nearly a stampede after a false report of a shooter during the evacuation.
Everything is back to normal ops at the airport but many travelers report a near stampede as someone yelled "shooter!" during the evacuation
— Richard Elliot (@RElliotWSB) March 23, 2016
There are no reports of ANY shooter at the airport, but the rumor of one sparked fear and some panic among some passengers.
— Richard Elliot (@RElliotWSB) March 23, 2016
Atlanta police say they are looking for a man in a purple shirt who yelled "active shooter" during the self-evacuation.
“All of a sudden, there was pure panic. Everybody started standing up screaming, ‘there's an active shooter, active shooter,’” said passenger Kim Schofield.
Schofield was there with her daughter Kyler to catch a plane to New York.
Kyler says everyone was terrified.
“We went and hid in one of the baggage carriers that were still, and stayed there and prayed and prayed that god would give us all safety,” Kyler said.
APD says the suspicious package was just a bag of medication and posed no threat to passengers.
“We would like to have found that guy because you can see we've taken a heightened posture here at this airport, and we do take those things very seriously, and even for someone to say that, that is completely unacceptable,” said APD’s Major Lane Hagan.
Flight operations are proceeding as normal.
Fallout from the airport incident and evac: the longest TSA lines I've ever seen. If you're flying, get here early. pic.twitter.com/FKVgK0G8MW
— Richard Elliot (@RElliotWSB) March 23, 2016
Cox Media Group