A 63-year-old machete-wielding man, who attacked security staff at New Orleans international airport with wasp spray before being shot multiple times by authorities has died from his wounds, police said today.
The suspect, Richard White, believed to be mentally ill, died yesterday after treatment for three bullet wounds he suffered when a sheriff's lieutenant fired at him to halt the Friday night attack at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office said.
Investigators had hoped to question White to find out what set off his rampage, but the taxi driver died before law enforcement officials were able to speak to him.
Earlier, officials released new details about the attack, including the fact that they believed White was mentally ill.
The incident began when White, carrying a bag, entered one of the lanes at the security checkpoint for Concourse B and began spraying Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents and bystanders with a can of wasp spray, the sheriff's office said.
He then pulled a machete from his waistband and began swinging it at agents and others in the area.
He had brought six Molotov cocktails, a barbecue lighter and smoke bombs into the airport.
"What I saw originally was one of the officers getting sprayed with the wasp spray," said TSA agent Caroll Richel, whose arm was hit by one of the bullets fired at White by a law enforcement officer.
The officials told reporters that he had earlier left a bag of explosives inside the airport concourse. A bomb squad found smoke bombs inside his car as well, along with tanks of acetylene, Freon and oxygen, Normand said.
The motive for the attack was unclear, Sheriff Normand said. He added that White's wife and children had been "very cooperative" and had told the authorities that there was a "mental illness component" to his behaviour.
White was taken to a local hospital, where he underwent surgery. He is a taxi driver who recently received his chauffeur's license.
However, the sheriff said officials had not learned of any past episodes that might have hinted at an outburst of violence like the one on Friday.
Meanwhile, the New Orleans international airport was back open and fully operational, Mayor Mitch Landrieu said. He praised security officials for acting quickly and heroically and doing everything they could to stop the attack.
