A bare-chested man was apprehended after a daring dash across the tarmac of Los Angeles International Airport, heading towards an airplane.
The incident, which unfolded around 6am on Saturday, saw the man, in the throes of a mental health crisis, break free from Terminal 4 and sprint onto the airfield. This account was provided by Police Captain Karla Rodriguez of the Los Angeles Airport Police Department in an interview with CBS.
As reported by The Independent, the airport police were quick to respond, and a confrontation ensued, resulting in the man's arrest. A video clip, captured on a cell phone and later obtained by KCAL, shows the shirtless man, whose identity remains undisclosed by the authorities, running near an American Airlines aircraft, with an officer hot on his heels. The chase ended near a JetBlue aircraft, where the officer managed to catch up with the man and tackle him on the tarmac.
Following the incident, the man was charged with battery against a police officer and was subsequently taken to a hospital for a mental health evaluation, as stated by Rodriguez. This event is not an isolated one, as it echoes a similar incident that occurred at LAX in February. In that case, a man exited through one of the security doors at the Tom Bradley International Terminal and began running near a runway. When officers attempted to detain him, he resisted, leading the officers to employ "less-than-lethal force" to apprehend him, as per ABC7's report. The suspect in the February incident sustained minor injuries and was transported to a hospital.
This recent episode at Los Angeles International Airport comes on the heels of another disturbing event less than a month ago. An elderly woman, an innocent bystander, was knocked unconscious during a violent road rage altercation at LAX. Jasan Givens Sr. and another unidentified man were embroiled in a fight outside the airport around 9:30am on May 31. The fight spilled into a drop-off lane, where the elderly woman was checking her luggage. Security camera footage from LAX shows the woman standing near the curb when the two men, engrossed in their fight, knocked her over, causing her to lose consciousness instantly.
Paramedics from the Los Angeles Fire Department rushed the woman to the hospital in critical condition. The Los Angeles Police Department has since reported that the woman has been discharged from the hospital. These incidents underscore the need for increased security measures and mental health interventions at airports to ensure the safety of all passengers and bystanders.
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