Man attacks female TSA worker with machete in New Orleans airport

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A man holding a machete was shot at New Orleans airport Friday night after he attacked three TSA officials.

Richard White, 62, attacked two security officials with wasp spray, then cut a guard with his machete at a security checkpoint in Louis Armstrong International Airport.

Police said White pulled the machete from his waistband and started swinging when a TSA agent managed to block one of his strikes with a piece of luggage. He then proceeded to chase the agent through the airport until Lt Heather Slyve of the Jefferson Parish sheriff’s department fired three shots at him.

According to reports, the agent who was assaulted was slashed in her right arm and taken to hospital. Fortunately, her injuries were not thought to be serious. The assailant was shot in the chest, the thigh and the face before being taken to hospital as well.

The suspect in the bizarre Friday night attack remained in serious condition Saturday morning.

Photographs from inside the terminal Friday showed White laying on the floor with a machete not far from him. Another showed a woman in a TSA uniform being stretchered away.

Check out an eye witness account in the video below.