Masked man with hatchet confronts employee near Fort Lauderdale airport, remains at large

A masked person armed with a hatchet confronted an employee early Friday morning in the parking lot of a business near Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office.

Deputies with BSO's Airport District responded at approximately 3:20 a.m. to the business in the 500 block of Southwest 34th Street in Fort Lauderdale after Broward County Regional Communications received a report of an armed, masked individual in the parking lot.

Investigators said the employee told deputies that the masked person confronted him while armed with a hatchet.

Masked man asks employee, "You ready?" before raising hatche

The employee, Jason Morgan, said that he noticed the man walking nearby and became suspicious before the man approached him and raised the hatchet.

"I see him approach me and raise the ax and say, 'Ready?'" Morgan said. "And I said, 'What is this?' And him kind of smile, raise it again and say, 'You ready?' And I grab him and take it from him, and him run away."

At some point during the confrontation, the employee was able to disarm the person, according to BSO. The person then fled the area on foot.

Morgan described the man as wearing camouflage pants, an orange mask and a green long-sleeve shirt. He said he later turned the hatchet over to deputies.

"I still can't believe it," Morgan said. "I never did look anything like that to happen out here." He said he initially wondered whether the encounter was some kind of joke before realizing how serious it was.

Morgan's girlfriend, Lilith Crawford, said she was sitting in her car nearby when she heard him calling her name and saying someone was trying to hurt him. When she got out of the car, she said she saw a man wearing a ski mask, long sleeves and camouflage pants.

"I got panicked and scared," Crawford said. She said she began screaming for help before Morgan took the hatchet from the man. Crawford called 911 and tried to follow the fleeing man in her car but eventually lost sight of him.

Deputies searched the surrounding area but were unable to locate the person.

Workers report possible earlier attack near Fort Lauderdale airport

Other workers in the area said the encounter has left them uneasy, particularly because employees come and go during overnight hours.

"It's scary," witness Svetla Koleva said. "We come out at night and there's like not many lights." She said employees are now watching out for one another and are "kind of scared a little." 

Several workers also said they had heard about an earlier attack involving a person with a cutting weapon near the area. Witnesses gave varying accounts of when it happened, whether it was reported to authorities and whether the same person was involved. BSO has not confirmed that the incidents are connected.

No injuries were reported, according to BSO.

The investigation remains ongoing. 

Anyone with information about the incident or the person involved is asked to contact Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS (8477).