MSP Airport To Step Up Security After Fort Lauderdale Shooting
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- After 13 people were shot at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood airport and at least five died, passengers will notice increased patrols at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
More officers began patrolling pre-security areas months ago after shootings at airports around the world. Officers carrying long guns are part of a plan to prevent and respond to any incident.
"One of the challenges for airports in pre-security areas is people haven't been through security yet and they could have guns, they could have knives, you don't know what they have," Patrick Hogan of the Metropolitan Airports Commission said. "So you have to make sure we have the amount of police patrol that we need and be ready to make any kind of response."
The suspect in the Fort Lauderdale shooting, Esteban Santiago, was flying from Anchorage, Alaska and caught a connecting flight at MSP. He brought the firearm in a checked bag.
In Minnesota, people can have a weapon in public areas if they have a permit. Passengers must declare a gun with the airline and put it in checked luggage.