A Florida man shot and critically wounded a 24-year-old woman with a sawed off shotgun Wednesday afternoon at Armstrong International airport.
Patrick Gott, 43, of Pensacola, Florida is in custody for the shooting. Witnesses said that he attempted to fire off additional shots before his gun jammed and bystanders wrestled him to the ground.
The unidentified victim is in critical condition at Kenner Regional Medical Center. A spokesman for the hospital says she is in surgery. She was shot in the stomach area.
Jefferson Parish Sheriff Harry Lee says another person nearby sustained very minor injuries from a shotgun pellet.
Lee told a gathering of reporters that the man said he fired because people in the airport were making fun of his turban.
“That’s his story,” said Lee. “We don’t know what really happened.”
The shooting happened near the airport’s ticket counter, away from the area where screeners check luggage prior to a passenger’s boarding a plane.
A spokesperson for the airport says that flight schedules haven’t been affected, however, there are long lines outside of the building as much of the ticket counter has been cordoned off as a crime scene. Tickets are being taken outside of the facility.
Jonathon Jenkins, an eyewitness to the shooting, recalled that he heard what sounded like an explosion.
"Everyone scattered. Everyone went down in the middle of the lobby. I went down and when I came up I noticed a man with a shotgun in his hand... he was approaching the Southwest ticket counter... he went to pump the gun again and it jammed."
Jenkins said that a person at the ticket counter then jumped on the suspect and authorities came in.
LOL - could be, but I doubt it. You're telling me in an urban area (especially freaky NO), adults actually behave like that? Oh and he also had a shotgun on hand to defend his sullied honor.
Good grief...
If he does believe in God, this should tell him he's on the wrong side.
And the fact that he happened to have his shotgun with him at the airport was just a funny coincidence....
Interesting natural reaction. I must remember that if faced with this in the future the better reaction is to leave.