Accidental gunfire erupted at an international airport in the United States, causing the airport to be closed to all traffic.
According to the French news agency AFP, Atlanta airport officials said that three people were injured in the accident but their condition is not critical.
According to the U.S. Transportation Security Administration, the incident occurred when an X-ray machine identified a "prohibited object" in a passenger's bag.Authorities say that when the duty officer tried to open the bag, the passenger tried to snatch it, which caused the gun to go off. However, the passenger escaped.
A spokesman for the airport said authorities were aware of the passenger and would provide more details.
The airport said in a Twitter statement following the incident: "There was no attack, but the gun went off accidentally. No passengers or crew are at risk. An investigation is under way.
American TV showed on CNN that passengers were falling and running around in chaos. Some of them were shouting, "Sit down, sit down."
Some took refuge in the airport restaurant and some fled to the runway.
A CNN reporter's plane was about to land at the airport, but the pilot announced that there was an "attacker" at the airport and that the plane was not being allowed to land yet.This year, 450 weapons were recovered during screenings at the airport.
Under a controversial law passed in the US state of Georgia in 2014, anyone can carry a licensed gun to the airport, but no one is allowed to carry the gun to the airport screening area, bars and schools.
The airport reopened after being closed for about three hours.
