Texas police have identified 37-year-old Portia Odufuwa as the woman who opened fire at Dallas Love Field Airport on Monday morning.
Dallas police stated that she was dropped off at the airport, and then entered the terminal.
Police said that Odufuwa entered a women’s restroom and then walked out to the ticket counter and fired a few shots at a gun several times.
Police said that a Dallas officer engaged the suspect nearby and shot her in the “lower extremities”.
Odufuwa was taken to the hospital by authorities. Other injuries among passengers, airport workers, and responding officers were not reported.
Breaking: Dallas Love Field Airport in Dallas, Texas, is on lockdown due to reports of a shooting. pic.twitter.com/Ude1LxLNMN
— PM Breaking News (@PMBreakingNews) July 25, 2022
“At the moment we don’t understand where exactly this person was aiming,” Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcie stated to reporters earlier.
Witnesses claimed that they saw an armed woman in black walking into the terminal with guns raised.
Judy Rawle said that she heard someone shouting while checking in at the counter. “And we looked up, and we saw her walk down with guns raised.”
Rawle stated that she heard from another witness that the suspect was upset because her husband had been fired.
Travel alert – @DallasLoveField @TSA is in the process of rescreening all travelers through airport security checkpoint. Understand that will take time, so be patient because number of passengers at checkpoint has just increased exponentially.
— TSA_SouthWest (@Tsa_SouthWest) July 25, 2022
Authorities said that the incident occurred near the entry but did not involve Transportation Security Administration checkpoint.
A spokesperson for TSA stated that the shooting took place in a non-secure area at the ticket counter.
It slowed traffic at the Texas airport for several hours. After the shooting at 11 a.m., the airport was closed and the TSA evacuated it. They said they were ordering mandatory screenings for all travelers.
Images show stunned travelers hiding in waiting areas.
🚨 FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUSPENDED: Passengers should refrain from coming to Dallas Love Field at this time as flight operations have been suspended. Travelers should check directly with their airline for the latest updates on their flight status. Thank you for your patience. pic.twitter.com/ihvHxKrjSp
— Dallas Love Field (@DallasLoveField) July 25, 2022
According to records, a Portia Olufuwa with the same name as the victim was charged with a Wylie bank robbery in 2019. She was arrested at the scene but the charges were dropped later.
Odufuwa’s attorney in the case of robbery did not respond immediately to our requests for comment.
Oduwufa, 37, had been accused of handing a teller a note demanding money, as reported in regards to the bank robbery in 2019.
A court had ordered an examination into her competency just two weeks before the dismissal, records show.
The FBI is supporting Dallas police with their airport investigation.
