Thousands stranded at Florida airport: ‘You feel so vulnerable’
Employees and passengers walk outside terminal 2 at the scene of a deadly shooting at Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport, Friday, Jan. 6, 2017, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. An Army veteran who complained that the government was controlling his mind drew a gun from his checked luggage on arrival at the Fort Lauderdale airport and opened fire in the baggage claim area Friday, killing several people and wounding others, authorities said. AP
FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida — Thousands of travelers and others at the busy Fort Lauderdale airport during Friday’s deadly shooting were kept on lockdown for more than six hours — some reliving their fears through false reports of a second shooting; others stuck on planes, or in their cars awaiting word from loved ones; and many just amassed at the tarmac hoping for a green light to head home.
“People were extremely emotional, crying, horrified,” said Constance McIntyre, 53, who hid in a bathroom stall during the reports of a second shooting. “I didn’t even know if it was a safe place. You feel so vulnerable there. It was stressful and terrifying.”
READ: 5 dead, 8 wounded in shooting at Florida airport
She and her husband, Vincent McIntyre, had arrived about 1 p.m. to drop off their daughter for a flight to Jamaica at Terminal 4. He soon found out that at Terminal 2, the gunman had opened fire moments earlier. And now, they were part of the second wave of panic. People who heard the reports of another round of shots ran toward Terminal 4. TV news footage showed people ducking behind vehicles and hiding as they again ran.
Vincent McIntyre said that at one point he heard a commotion in the parking area and moments later saw officers searching for people.
“We saw them running toward some guys with their guns drawn, and people around them scattered. They tackled two men and got their bags,” he said.
Article continues after this advertisementHe said they put one of the suitcases in a bright yellow container and then heard over the speakers that authorities were going to conduct a controlled explosion of a suspicious package.
Article continues after this advertisementRonnie Coutu, a 38-year-old Raleigh, North Carolina, businessman, said he spent hours on a Southwest Airlines plane before he had to be evacuated because of a diabetic emergency.
“The airport did a good job trying to keep up,” Coutu said as he left the emergency room. “They brought water, food and dumped the lavatories.”
He and his wife, Ashley Lambert, said there was confusion on the plane when it landed in Fort Lauderdale and sat unmoving on the tarmac. Then another passenger yelled, “There’s been a shooting,” and a flight attendant confirmed it, they said.
After sunset, McIntyre and his family were still at the airport waiting for his daughter, whose flight was grounded, to come out. Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said the airport would remain closed until the entire facility was secure.
About 6:30 p.m., SWAT team members began escorting the people who had been standing in the check-in area of Terminal 2 to a parking garage.
About 7:15 p.m., with all flights still grounded, authorities said travelers with vehicles were being allowed to leave the airport and others were being taken in buses to a seaport terminal nearby.
