This is exactly why I have been on my soapbox and screaming that we have to check people before they get into the terminal. We need checks at the perimeter. If it were a bomb, he would have killed many people. By the time someone gets to a machine to be x-rayed, he is in a position to do a great amount of damage.So? Unless we're going to check everyone, everywhere an airport terminal is no better target than anywhere else, like a restaurant or a movie theater.
A man police identified as Patrick Gott, 43, of Pensacola, Fla., is led from Louis Armstrong International Airport Wednesday evening May 22, 2002, in Kenner, La. The suspect allegedly fired a shotgun in the lobby of the airport injuring two people, telling investigators that he fired because people made fun of his turban. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)
I must respectfully disagree. If airports are shut down because one experienced a blast, it will bring air travel to a halt. Can you imagine the economic cost if that happens a second time? A bomb in a restaurant will cause fewer people to go out to eat. A bomb at an airport will shut down every airport.