Part of Los Angeles airport briefly closed, ‘Zorro’ detained

Los Angeles, Aug 29 (AFP) Part of Los AngelesInternational Airport was briefly closed today after loudnoises were heard that sounded like gunfire, possibly causedby a man dressed in a black Zorro outfit who was laterdetained by police. Passengers who fled in panic after hearing the noisesslowly filtered back to the busy airport, as the departure andarrival areas of the central terminal that were closed for apolice sweep were re-opened. "Report of shooting at LAX proven to be LOUD NOISESonly," Los Angeles Police Department chief spokesman AndyNeiman wrote on Twitter. "No Shots Fired No Injuries investigation continues tolocate source," he added. However an individual "in Zorro costume has beendetained" by airport police, airport authorities wrote onTwitter. It was not immediately known what role the individualplayed in the incident. The Los Angeles airport, known as LAX, is the seventhbusiest airport worldwide in terms of traffic. Los Angelesitself is the second most populous city in the United States. Following the reports of an active shooter, passengers"in several LAX terminals self-evacuated onto the tarmac andrushed through federal security screening without beingproperly screened," airport public relations director NancySuey Castles said after the terminal was cleared. Many passengers however were "being screened by explosivedetection K-9 units" before being allowed to enter theterminals for re-screening, she said, adding that reports "ofan active shooter at LAX were unfounded."(AFP)AMS