Alleged Machete Attack On TSA Agent Leaves One Dead in New Orleans International Airport

A man sprayed Transportation Security Administration (TSA) offers in the face with wasp spray then swung a machete at guards before being shot several times at a security checkpoint in the New Orleans international airport Friday, according to reports.

Richard White, 62, walked up to the checkpoint, pulled out a can of the insecticide and began spraying both agents and passengers standing in line, said Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand.

Two people, at least one of them a female TSA agent, were cut and bleeding, though the wounds did not appear to be life-threatening, according to a Reuters report.

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports that the man allegedly began his attack when challenged by the TSA officer checking boarding passes.

"He ran past two other officers and pulled a large machete from his waistband, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand said. A TSA agent blocked the weapon using a piece of luggage as the man ran through the magnetometer, he said.

"The sheriff said the man approached JPSO Lt. Heather Slyve, a deputy stationed at the checkpoint, swinging the machete. Slyve fired three rounds, striking the man in the left chest area, the left facial area and the left thigh, Normand said."

Normand said investigators were trying to determine what White was doing at the airport. He said it did not appear that he was trying to get on a plane.

Authorities later found White's car outside the terminal and were searching it, said police Col. John Fortunato.