{"id":200609,"date":"2019-02-03T02:47:05","date_gmt":"2019-02-03T07:47:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=200609"},"modified":"2019-02-03T02:47:05","modified_gmt":"2019-02-03T07:47:05","slug":"australian-police-disable-arrest-man-in-airport-standoff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2019\/02\/03\/australian-police-disable-arrest-man-in-airport-standoff\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian police disable, arrest man in airport standoff"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The airport reported that the disruption had caused delays to arrivals and departures of up to three hours. (File Photo By <\/a>Kgbo – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

CANBERRA, Australia \u2014 A man who falsely claimed to have a bomb and menaced a woman with a knife forced the evacuation of Brisbane International Airport for more than two hours in an emergency that police described on Sunday as elaborate and terrifying.<\/p>\n

Police ended the standoff late Saturday by shooting the 50-year-old man with non-lethal bean bag shotgun rounds and arresting him. There were no injuries reported, and police said the emergency was not related to terrorism.<\/p>\n

The airport reported that the disruption had caused delays to arrivals and departures of up to three hours.<\/p>\n

The incident began in the terminal’s food court when the man pulled a knife on a screaming woman and placed a fake bomb on a table. Hundreds of panicked travellers fled the scene.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a blood-curdling little scream, and she just bolted across the forecourt,\u201d a man, who was not identified, told Nine Network television.<\/p>\n

Another man, who also was not identified, told Nine: \u201cHe had one knife to start with, then when he looped back around he pulled out a second knife.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were big carving knife-like things. There weren’t normal little knives, they were big,\u201d the same witness added.<\/p>\n

A woman, who was not identified, told Nine that the sound of the woman screaming sent people running. Somebody yelled that a man was armed with a knife or gun, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just grabbed my kids, and I just ran out the door,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The man’s first language was Arabic and an Arabic-speaking police officer was at the scene within minutes to negotiate, Police Commissioner Ian Stewart said.<\/p>\n

The man had gone to extraordinary lengths \u201cto create a perception of risk, threat and fear,\u201d Stewart said.<\/p>\n

Police opened fire with bean bag rounds after the man claimed to have a bomb, Police Detective Superintendent Tony Fleming said. He was arrested soon after.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis behaviour elevated such that they were quite concerned about him, and some bean bag rounds were discharged and they struck him in the torso,\u201d Fleming told reporters.<\/p>\n

The man, from Gold Coast city near Brisbane, was examined by paramedics and had \u201cno significant injuries,\u201d Fleming said.<\/p>\n

But Crawford said the man suffered a \u201chealth issue\u201d on Sunday and was taken to a hospital where he was charged with offences including contravening a restraining order and stalking with a weapon.<\/p>\n

The most serious charge was threatening to destroy an aviation facility, which carries a potential sentence of 10 years in prison.<\/p>\n

He has not been publicly named and will appear in a Brisbane court on Monday.<\/p>\n

Stewart, the police commissioner, commended the bravery of officers who contained a threat that appeared \u201cabsolutely life-threatening\u201d to the food court.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have absolutely no doubt that was a terrifying experience for members of the public that saw that,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cThe alleged behaviours … what he was saying, what he was doing was certainly terrifying.\u201d<\/p>\n

Assistant Police Commissioner Peter Crawford said the man’s statements led police to search a number of premises and vehicles for improvised explosive devices. Stewart said more than one fake device had been found and all were inert.<\/p>\n

Police locked down the airport for more than two hours and halted airport train services.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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