New York - Arab Today
Panicked travelers stampeded through Kennedy International Airport in New York on Sunday after unconfirmed reports of gunfire there, leading the police to evacuate two terminals and close part of a major highway that runs near the airport, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said.
The Port Authority said in a statement that its preliminary investigation "does not indicate shots were fired" at the airport, but that Terminals 1 and 8 were evacuated "to be cautious." No explanation was given as to what had caused the initial reports.
"There are no injuries," the statement said. "At this time, no firearm, rounds or shell casings or other evidence of shots fired has been found." Harry J. Wedin, chief of the special operations division of the New York Police Department, said on Twitter shortly after midnight that all affected terminals had been searched and cleared. He said no shots had been fired. A Port Authority spokesman said no arrests had been made, according to (The New York Times).
Joe Pentangelo, a Port Authority spokesman, said in an email that reports of gunfire inside Terminal 8 began arriving around 9:30 p.m. He said the panic appeared to have begun "near the departures area." Pentangelo said Terminal 1 was evacuated after the police received additional calls of shots fired. He said the Van Wyck Expressway, which runs near the airport in Queens, had been partially closed to aid in the response.
Source : QNA