Alleged Gunman Kills TSA Agent at LAX (Updated)

Update: An earlier report was incorrect (see below)–the alleged gunman is not dead, but in custody. He is 23-year-old Paul Ciancia, of Pennsville, New Jersey.

Update: The alleged gunman was a TSA employee, the LA Times reports. In addition to the TSA agent he reportedly killed, seven have been treated for injuries.

Suspect pulled rifle out of bag, opened fire in several locations. Police tracked suspect down, shot him in Terminal 3. He was taken into custody. “At this point be believe this was a lone shooter,” he said.

Original story:

A gunman reportedly opened fire at Los Angeles International Airport today, killing a TSA agent, according to the Los Angeles Times. That alleged gunman is now being reported as dead.

The Times reports that three or four additional TSA employees were injured. The gunman is said to have opened fire at around 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time with a rifle or high-powered weapon around the security screening checkpoint in terminal 3. 45-year-old Vernor Cardenas, a producer of Fox’s “MasterChef” en route to Philadelphia gave the newspaper an account of what he saw.

“Sitting down, all of a sudden, literally just out of the blue, you hear a rumble in the background and a couple of seconds later, people are running at me,” said [Cardenas.] He described the scene as “mayhem,” with couples crying and parents who couldn’t find their children.

Stay tuned for more updates as the story develops. [LA Times]