Emma Sutherland - Machete Rampage at New Orleans airport

SUMMARY: 
            63 year old, Richard White, comes into the TSA airport line in New Orleans with a surprise to the citizens going through security. He has a big brown paper bag that contains wasp spray and a machete! With no obvious warning, White begins to spray the airline passengers as they attempt to feed their baggage into the x-ray machine. He then pulls out a machete from his waistband and begins to frantically swing it throughout the air in an attempt to hit the bystanders. As the citizens scramble through this section of the airport, a sheriff's lieutenant fired bullets at White, and hit him three times. However, in this attempt to hit the assailant, one of the TSA officers was hit in the tricep by one of the bullets. She said about the event, "I didn't hear him say anything... Once I yelled for the checkpoint to be cleared, I looked over my shoulder and he was coming after me. And I ran as fast as I could and thank God the officer was as close as she was, because I wouldn't be here today." Investigators said that they found Molotov cocktails and a grill lighter in the bag as well, and smoke bombs and three gas tanks in his car. They also explained that he suffers from a mental illness. White died the next day following treatment for his three bullet wounds.

ANALYSIS:
          Although not a recent incident, this frightening ordeal came back into media spotlight due to the recent release of video footage capturing White's rampage. Before reading this article, I had not heard much about airport violence and events regarding the security of citizens in an airport. However, this does call to question how important and crucial airport security is. Many bystanders could have gotten hurt in this incident, and it is very fortunate that there were no major injuries or fatalities. Because of the increase in airport security protocols since 9/11, most people most likely perceive airports to be a relatively safe place, and this probably caught them by surprise. This can be synthesized to the Battle of San Jacinto in the Texas Revolution. 800 Texans prepared to battle 1,400 Mexicans at an area near Houston, Texas today. During a confident Mexican army's afternoon siesta, the Texans (led by General Sam Houston) attacked the Mexicans at around 3:30, surprising them out of nowhere. 630 Mexicans were killed in the event, and only 9 Texan lives were lost. This is similar due to the surprise attack issued by both the Texans and Richard White, as they caught many people by surprise in the process of them executing everyday actions with confidence that they were safe from harm.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/30/us/new-orleans-airport-incident-video/index.html