A 37-year-old woman was arrested Monday after allegedly firing several rounds at Dallas Love Field Airport in Texas and was shot and wounded by a police officer, authorities said.
No other injuries were reported, police said, but the shooting scattered travelers and delayed several flights.
The woman was dropped off at the airport shortly before 11 a.m. and appeared to change clothes in a restroom before exiting and opening fire inside the airport, said Dallas Police Department Chief Eddie Garcia, in a press conference Monday afternoon.
A Dallas police officer inside the airport shot and hit her “in the lower extremities,” and she was arrested and taken to a hospital, Chief Garcia said. His condition was not immediately clear Monday afternoon.
It was not clear who or what the woman was aiming for when she shot. Chief Garcia said the officer shot him several times after he started shooting.
In a later update, the Police Department identified the woman as Portia Odufuwa and said she had fired a gun multiple times in an airport ticketing area.
Ms. Odufuwa was charged with falsely reporting a fire in Dallas County in April 2021. That June, a judge ruled that she could not consult an attorney and was incompetent to stand trial, but that she was not a danger to others, according to court records.
The judge ordered Ms. Odufuwa to attend “psychosocial counseling” and live in housing arranged by a health care provider.
Lanasha Darnell, 43, of Forney, Texas, who has worked at the airport since 2020, said she saw people running through the terminal.
“We have evacuation drills and where we’re supposed to go, but in the middle of that, that’s all out the window,” Ms. Darnell.
Travelers entered shops and restaurants, hiding in kitchens and behind furniture. Joe Castronovo III, who had flown in from Orlando, Fla., on business, said he exited the Jetway and entered the terminal and “saw people running” as travelers tried to find cover.
Mr. Castronovo’s father, Joe Castronovo Jr., arrived at the terminal to pick up his son as the chaotic scene unfolded.
“I got up and saw a woman screaming and running out of the building,” said the elder Mr. Castronovo, of Highland Park, Texas. “We were scared something was wrong. Workers were coming out and telling people to hide.”
Chief Max Geron of the Police Department in Rockwall, Texas, east of Dallas, said on Twitter that Love Field was evacuated “after an apparent shooting.”
“The family is safe,” he said. “TSA did a great job.”
A review of at least 433 active shooter attacks in the United States between 2000 and 2021 found that a police officer shoots or physically subdues the shooter in less than a third of the attacks.
Pete Buttigieg, the transportation secretary, said on Twitter that his office was closely monitoring the situation.
“Thank you to all the first responders on the scene who work to ensure the safety of travelers,” said Mr. Buttigieg
The Transportation Security Administration was working to get travelers through security after the shooting and did not have an estimate for how long it would take, Patricia Mancha, a TSA spokeswoman, said in a statement. More than 60 flights at Love Field were delayed after the shooting, according to FlightAware, a flight-tracking website.
Love Field Airport said in a statement that the shooting had prompted an evacuation and a shelter-in-place order while police responded.
The airport said on Twitter that its flight operations were suspended while the Dallas Police Department investigated, but later announced that its operations had resumed. The airport was still encouraging passengers to check with their airlines for flight information.
Alex Traub contributed to this report.