国际英语新闻:One killed, seven wounded in LAX airport shooting

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- At least one Transportation Security Administration agent was killed and seven others wounded after a gunman opened fire at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), California, Friday morning, local authorities confirmed.

The suspect walked calmly to a security checkpoint at the terminal 3, pulled a rifle out of a bag and began shooting at around 9:20 a.m. local time (1620 GMT), said Patrick Gannon, chief of the Los Angeles Airport Police Department, at a press conference.

"The suspect then proceeded up into the screening area and continued shooting, and went past the screeners and back to the airport itself," Gannon said.

Shortly after the incident, police shot the gunman and took him into custody inside the terminal, Cannon said, without disclosing the condition of the suspect, who he believed acted alone.

Some witnesses described the gunman as a young white male.

Six of the seven wounded people were taken to local hospitals, the LAX said in its official twitter account.

At least one victim sent to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center is in critical condition, according to the hospital.

David Bowdich, FBI special agent in charge, said at the press conference that investigation was underway, and "at this point, we do not see any additional threats here at the airport."

The terminal were evacuated soon after the shooting as terrified travelers scrambled out.

"Terminal 2 has now been cleared by law enforcement, but not cleared to start operations. We're working on getting employees back to terminal," the LAX said in another tweet.

Major roads leading to LAX were closed to traffic, while police were doing the search.

LAX is the third largest airport in the U.S. and Terminal 3 serves the operations for airlines including Allegiant Air, Frontier, JetBlue, Spirit and Virgin America.

A ground stop was issued for the airport Friday morning, meaning planes around the country bound for LAX were being held on the ground.

Passengers on some flights having arrived in the airport were told to stay in their planes. Gina Marie Lindsey, head of Los Angeles World Airports, the city agency that operates the airport, said some incoming flights were diverted to LA/Ontario International Airport, while planes at other terminals were allowed to take off.

"I want to let everyone know that technically LAX is still accepting incoming flights, but we are doing that at less than half of our normal arrival rate," Lindsey said.