After opening fire at Dallas Love Field Airport on Monday morning, a 37-year-old woman was charged with aggravated assault against a public official, Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia announced at a press conference Tuesday afternoon as officials unveiled videos of the dramatic incident.
At at 10:59 a.m. local time, Portia Odufuwa entered the airport and used the restroom, according to authorities.
According to Garcia, she came out of the restroom dressed differently and fired three bullets into the air.
The officer and a bystander were then both shot as she pointed her firearm at them. Odufuwa was found to have fired her handgun at the officer after an investigation.
The officer, who responded as soon as the suspect started firing and offered repeated verbal commands to her while verbally directing onlookers to safety, was named by Garcia as a 15-year veteran. Garcia praised the officer’s heroism and bravery, claiming that he helped save several lives.
According to Garcia, the officer shot the man eight or nine times. The lower extremity of the suspect was wounded. She had surgery, and as of Tuesday afternoon, her status is stable.
No other people were hurt.
According to the police, the Uber driver who took the suspect to the airport was unrelated to the event.
Police showed body camera footage and surveillance video from the incident at the press conference on Tuesday.
The video shows the suspect getting out of a car, walking into the airport, using the restroom, coming out, and starting to shoot.
The cop eventually shoots her, precisely correlating with both earlier police updates and eyewitness accounts.
Police claimed that before the lady started shooting, bystanders overheard her babbling irrationally about getting married, going to jail, and blowing up the airport.
The suspect, who according to police has been forbidden from owning a handgun since 2018, did not register the gun used in the shooting.
It’s unclear how she got her hands on the weapon.
In 2016, the suspect made two attempts to buy a pistol from a pawn shop, but was unsuccessful due to an existing traffic warrant in New Mexico, according to Garcia.
She had many prior encounters with law enforcement, according to police, including an arrest in 2019 for an accused bank robbery in Wylie, Texas, an arrest in 2019 for an alleged arson, and an arrest in 2020, following which she was sent for a mental health evaluation.
During the Monday incident, the airport was placed on lockdown; after many hours of inquiry, flying operations were reopened.
Garcia said the individual might be charged with further federal offences. At this point, no motive has been identified, and the incident is still under investigation.