Atlanta airport shooting incident was “accidental discharge,” says Hartsfield International Airport

(CNN Spanish) – Authorities reported in a verified account tweet that “an accidental discharge” occurred at Hartsfield International Airport on Saturday afternoon..

“There is no attacker. There was an accidental discharge at the airport. There is no danger to passengers or employees. There is an ongoing investigation, more information will be published on this channel,” he says a tweet from the Atlanta airport.

There is not an active shooter. There was an accidental discharge at the Airport. There is no danger to passengers or employees. An investigation is ongoing, more information will be published on this channel.

– Atlanta Airport (@ATLairport) November 20, 2021

A ground halt was requested at the busy airport for all outbound flights, according to a tweet from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Officials do not specify the type of weapon that was fired, the circumstances surrounding it, or the severity of the injuries.

The incident occurs at the beginning of the Thanksgiving travel period, a period in which the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) expects to screen more than 20 million people at checkpoints in airport security across the country.

In October, David Pekoske, the TSA administrator, told CNN that airline passengers are bringing weapons to the airport in quantities never seen before, and it is a “big problem.”

The TSA reported that 4,650 firearms were collected at checkpoints during the first 10 months of the year, most of which were loaded. That number surpasses the full-year record of 4,432, set in 2019.

Pekoske said he believes the number of weapons confiscated reflects an increasingly armed American population. “I think more people carry guns, generally across the country, and then whatever is happening across the country we see it reflected at our checkpoints,” he said. “As a passenger, I don’t want another passenger to fly with me with a weapon in their possession.”