Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson praised the Transportation Security Administration’s response to a machete attack at the New Orleans airport Friday, saying that the incident was an example of the threats the agency defends travelers from.
Calling Friday’s attack a “senseless act of violence,” Johnson said Saturday that the incident was “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 to keep millions of passengers traveling through our airports safe.”
On Friday night a man wielding wasp spray and a machete attacked TSA agents at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.
A TSA agent blocked a machete blow with luggage, and a local police officer shot the attacker.
The assailant, 62 year-old Richard White, was taken to a local hospital. A TSA agent and another person were shot during the confrontation but were not badly injured, CNN reported.
Johnson commended the local sheriffs department for its part in stopping White.
The Homeland Security chief did not ascribe a motive to White’s attack.
