Man held in airport security breach

A man who attempted to pass through security unchecked at the Orlando International Airport sparked panic among travelers Saturday, sending people fleeing through the airport amid rumors he had a gun, Orlando police said.

The incident took place about 12:15 p.m. near the west security checkpoint that feeds gates one through 59, airport spokeswoman Carolyn Fennell said.

When police approached the man, identified as 37-year-old Ryan Scott Mills, they said he reached into his pocket, prompting people around him to believe he had a firearm.

Claims Mills had a gun are untrue, according to OPD, who said on Twitter “all reports on an active shooter or a subject with a gun are FALSE.”

Mills was detained under the state’s Baker Act, an OPD spokesman said, which allows for people to be involuntarily committed if they are deemed a danger to themselves or others. Charges of disorderly conduct and resisting an officer without violence will be filed against him, spokesman Sgt. Eduardo Bernal said in an email.

The attempted security breach prompted a temporary shutdown of screening at that area after panicked travelers ran through security unchecked, according to Fennel. Several people who were pushed by crowds suffered minor injuries, Bernal said.

The checkpoints were reopened about an hour later and operations began returning to normal, TSA officials said.

“There’s no threat to safety and security at this point,” she said.

Travelers took to social media to describe panic inside the airport as people began screaming and running toward exits.

“Scariest moment ever,” one person wrote on Twitter. “At the airport and suddenly hundreds of people are running away from something.”

Samuel Sinyangwe, who is traveling to Philadelphia, said he was in the food court when he saw people fleeing.

“I look over and just a massive [group of ] people running toward me saying ‘get down and run.’

“I put my head down and ran until we got outside the airport.”

This is the second time this month an incident sparked mass panic at OIA. A Transportation Security Administration officer on Feb. 2 died after jumping from a balcony inside the airport lobby, sparking a similarly chaotic scene as travelers pushed through security in fear of a shooting.

Airport officials are urging travelers to arrive to the airport early as delays continued Saturday afternoon.