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4 Nov, 2013

1,550 flights, over 167,000 pax affected by LAX shooting

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) — A total of 1,550 flights with an estimated 167,050 passengers were affected by the shooting at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) Friday, an airport spokeswoman said Saturday.

Nancy Suey Castles, the spokesperson, told media that of those flights, 724 were scheduled arrivals with an estimated 67,850 passengers while 826 were departures with an estimated 99,200 passengers on board. What’s more, 86 flights scheduled to arrive at LAX were diverted to other airports.

Paul Anthony Ciancia, a 23-year-old white male, walked into Terminal 3 of LAX at around 9:20 a.m. Friday local time (GMT 1620), pulled out an assault rifle which is believed to be an AR-15, and started shooting. He killed a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officer and injured six others before being shot by police and taken into custody.

There’s still one victim in critical condition.

LAX is the third largest airport in the U.S.. Its Terminal 3 serves the operations for airlines including Allegiant Air, Frontier, JetBlue, Spirit and Virgin America.