Australind woman caught up in LAX ‘drama’

An Australind woman has described her experience of being evacuated from LAX during a suspected shooting as “confusing”.

Therese Colman was getting ready to board a flight back to Australia on Monday morning, when she was evacuated from one of America’s most famous airports after reports of an ‘active shooter’.

The 25-year-old was ending her two month holiday and was set to return to WA on Tuesday afternoon.

Miss Colman said she was in terminal B, which was on the other side of the airport.

“At around 9pm (LA time) an alarm went off,” she said.

“It was an ear piercing constant alarm that went for about five minutes. No announcement though.

“I saw a convoy of police go through the airport on segways.

“At about 9:30pm there was an overhead announcement stating there had been a shooting in terminal eight, the suspected shooter had been detained and people in terminal four to eight were evacuated.

“Honestly, I didn’t know it was happening at the time so I was calm.”

Miss Colman received a message on her phone just after 10pm LA time, which she said “confused her”.

The message said “no active shooter at LAX” and that “repopulation would begin soon”.

“A few news reports say it was a “hoax” although other news reports say a gun went off,” she said.

“I was just about to go through customs when it happened.

“Half the Qantas crew were still on their way to the airport when it happened.”

Miss Colman has a history of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, having been in Nice, France about three weeks before the Bastille Day terror attack, and in Munich two weeks before the shooting at Olympia Mall.