Sheriff says New Orleans airport attacker was armed with explosives, had mental illness issues
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}This drivers license image released by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office shows Richard White. The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's office said in a statement that 63-year-old White was pronounced dead Saturday, March 21, 2015, at a local hospital. Sheriff Newell Normand said White — who was shot three times by one of Normand's lieutenants Friday after approaching a security checkpoint at New Orleans' international airport, spraying insecticide and brandishing a machete — was also carrying a bag loaded with six Molotov cocktails: six Mason jars with cloth wicks soaked in gasoline. (AP Photo/Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office) (The Associated Press)
Authorities says the machete-wielding man who was shot at New Orleans' international airport after trying to attack security agents was carrying explosives at the time.
Sheriff Newell Normand says suspect Richard White, who was shot by a security agent at the airport late Friday, was carrying a bag loaded with six Molotov cocktails. Material determined to have come from smoke bombs was also found.
Normand says White is hospitalized with gunshot wounds.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The sheriff suggested that the suspect has had "mental health" issues. His family has been cooperating with the investigation.