A machete-wielding man shot dead who attempted to assault Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents at New Orleans Airport was also carrying an arsenal of Molotov cocktails and smoke bombs, investigators said.
Attacker Richard White, 63, died after being shot three times by police at the airport.
Police later found six Molotov cocktails in a discarded bag at the airport and smoke bombs in White’s car parked near the airport.
“We don’t know at this time what the intended purpose of those being in the trunk of the car actually are,” said Sheriff Newell Normand.
The motive of the attack also remains unclear but Normand revealed the man had a history of mental health problems.
White was a Jehovah’s Witness and has refused ‘certain types of medical care,’ Normand said.
Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson said in a statement: “The senseless act of violence that occurred last night at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport is a reminder of the variety of threats we face and the important work that the men and women of the Transportation Security Administration do every day.”
“Thankfully, our Transportation Security Officers were not severely injured and their actions appeared to have prevented the assailant from inflicting more harm.”
