Shots fired, ‘multiple people dead’ at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport

An unidentified shooter opened fire inside of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Friday afternoon, killing “multiple people” before being apprehended by police, according to a Twitter post from the Broward Sheriff’s Office.

BSO reported that one subject was in custody but did not identify the individual. Police received a call that shots had been fired at the airport at 12:55 p.m., according to BSO.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced that he was traveling to Fort Lauderdale to be briefed by police.

As security tightened around the airport and Miami International Airport, federal officials said the FBI was sending a terrorism task to investigate the shooting in Fort Lauderdale. But there was no indication yet that the incident is related to terrorism.

The shooting appears to have taken place inside the baggage claim area in the airport’s Terminal 2, according to a tweet from the airport’s account. The tweet did not provide further details.

Miami Herald news partner WFOR-CBS 4 reported Broward Fire Rescue confirmed reports of a shooting at around 1 p.m. At least one person was transported to Broward General Hospital, according to CBS.

WTVJ-NBC 6 reported one person was killed and as many as nine people were shot between Terminals 2 and 3.

Former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, who worked for President George W. Bush, tweeted that he was at the airport and “shots have been fired. Everyone is running.”

Fleischer later tweeted that “all seems calm now but the police aren’t letting anyone out of the airport.”

Broward County Mayor Barbara Sharief told CNN that it was a "lone shooter" who is now in custody.

“We have no evidence at this time that he was acting with anyone else,” she said.

“We are still investigating, but we have activated our airport emergency operations center,” she added.

Some flights are backed up at the airport, according to Sharief.

Police closed roads leading into the airport, bringing traffic to a standstill on I-595 East just east of I-95. Two buses, ambulances and multiple police cruisers could be seen on the airport’s tarmac and throughout the arrival and departure areas.

Eye witnesses at the airport began to post photos and other messages on Twitter shortly after the shooting, including one image that showed a person shot and bleeding while seated in a corner outside of the terminal.

In the wake of the shooting news, Miami-Dade officials said they beefed up security at MIA and PortMiami, its two main travel hubs. County spokesman Michael Hernández said “out of an abundance of caution” the county was instituting “enhanced” security at both county-owned facilities.

Those include a checkpoint at the entrance of the PortMiami tunnel off the MacArthur Causeway and additional police officers patrolling the port and airport.

This story was originally published January 6, 2017 at 1:54 PM with the headline "Shots fired, ‘multiple people dead’ at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport."