Arrest made after 3 stabbed at Atlanta airport, including police officer

October 11th, 2023

Flight attendants for major U.S. airlines are holding rallies at airports around the country to push for higher pay, Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024. The protests are not, however, a strike.(Matthew Pearson/WABE)

A woman was in custody after she allegedly stabbed three people Wednesday at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, police said.

Officers assigned to the airport encountered a woman armed with a knife outside of a security checkpoint walking toward the airport’s south terminal at about 4:45 p.m., police said in a statement on Facebook.

“Officers engaged the female, attempting to talk her into dropping the knife and working to restrict her movement and move travelers from the area,” according to the statement.

During the encounter, the woman stabbed another woman and then a police lieutenant as he tried to take her into custody. Another officer tackled and disarmed her before arresting her, police said.

Officers later learned the woman had stabbed a man before she entered the facility.

“The preliminary investigation indicates the female stabbed the driver of a taxi she was in, as it was pulling up to the airport,” according to the statement. “She then exited the taxi and walked into the airport, where officers encountered her a short time later.”

Authorities said all the victims were alert, conscious and breathing and have been transported to a hospital for treatment. The suspect, whose name was not released, was not injured.

Investigators are working to determine what led to the stabbings.

Airport management said “there was minimal impact to airport operations.”