A California man was arrested for allegedly making a sharp sound at an airport, that caused mass panic.
The incident occurred around 4:30 a.m. Sunday in Terminal 1 at the Harry Reid International Airport.
Investigators say the suspect Stefan Mathias Hutchison returned to the airport Sunday after he was arrested and released on Saturday for causing some sort of disturbance near a ticket counter.
On Sunday, Hutchison caused another disturbance but this time, the situation initiated mass panic throughout the airport:
“The initial sound was a door or trash can falling,” Hadfield said. “That triggered patrons to leave lines, which caused stanchions to fall, causing a succession of loud sounds.”
According to the report, the sound was mistaken for gunfire which caused customers to flee from the security checkpoint lines.
No one was seriously injured but the chaos caused dozens of commercial flights in and out of Las Vegas to be canceled or delayed.
In addition, customers who had already been screened by the Transportation Security Administration had to be rescreened.
Officials estimate that thousands of people were affected due to the busy nature of the airport.
While all the details surrounding the case are not clear, Hutchison was taken into custody at the airport on a felony burglary charge.
He was scheduled to appear before a judge on Monday but refused to be taken from the jail. His court date has now been scheduled for Wednesday.