Three teenagers charged after viral video shows fight at Atlanta airport
An argument broke out between a TSA agent and the three boys, ages 19, 19, and 17
An early morning fight at security inside Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport resulted in the arrest of three people on Tuesday.
Atlanta police wrote that the three male passengers attempted to board a flight and one did not have identification. An argument then broke out between a TSA agent, two 19-year-old boys and a 17-year-old boy.
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According to a report from APD, the argument escalated when a bystander chastised the men for speaking disrespectfully to the agent. The three teenagers then assaulted the bystander. Police arrived and one deployed his taser to quell the incident.
All three men were arrested and charged with criminal trespass and disorderly conduct.
Hartsfield-Jackson is one of the nation’s largest and busiest airports. It is also the primary hub for Delta Air Lines. The airport employs over 55,000 people and in 2015 was the first airport in the world to serve 100 million passengers in one year.
Footage of the fight was shared on an Instagram page called GAfollowersofficial, where it has racked up over 100,000 views.
Leadership in the city of Atlanta is facing pressure from the community after the city experienced its deadliest year on record with 157 homicides in 2020, even amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s really scary because you don’t know who’s going to be killed or who’s going to be shot or where those shots are coming from,” Columbus Ward, a community activist told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It’s just everywhere.”
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Atlanta’s most exclusive enclave, Buckhead, has seen an increase in violent crime as well. A committee has been established to explore seceding from Atlanta and creating a new city complete with its own police department.
“Our residents are genuinely concerned for their safety and the safety of their family members. Residents must be wary and ‘on guard’ continuously, even when doing routine tasks like going to the gas station, nearby shopping mall, shopping at the grocery store or just pulling into their driveways, mindful if anyone is lurking in the bushes,” the committee said in a statement to the Wall Street Journal.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced in January a series of reform measures including more resources for enforcement of gun and gang crime.
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