At least five people have been shot dead and eight others wounded in a shooting incident at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in the United States state of Florida.
Florida's Broward County Sheriff's office confirmed Friday's shooting in an update on Twitter. The office also stated that a suspect has been taken into custody.
Update: 5 ppl dead; 8 injured were taken to an area hospital.
— Broward Sheriff (@browardsheriff) January 6, 2017
The shooter was a passenger on a Canadian flight who pulled out the gun from his checked luggage after he claimed it, Chip LaMarca, a Broward County commissioner, told the Associated Press news agency.
Authorities received a call about shots being fired at around 12:55 pm local time (1755 GMT).
They gave no possible motive for the shooting inside Terminal 2, which serves Delta Air Lines and Air Canada.
Security officials corralled passengers into areas including underneath jetways and at least one open space on the runway apron, according to images on cable news networks.
All eight of the wounded have been transferred to a hospital for medical attention.
Ari Fleischer, a former press secretary for US President George W Bush, stated on Twitter shots were fired and "everybody is running".
I'm at the Ft. Lauderdale Airport. Shots have been fired. everybody is running.
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) January 6, 2017
Fleischer later said: "All seems calm now but the police aren't letting anyone out of the airportat least not the area where I am."
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is the second largest in South Florida, serving as an intercontinental gateway, with Miami International Airport known as the primary airport for international flights in the area.
Aljazeera