An altercation inside Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport turned violent late on Christmas Day, leaving three people injured by gunfire and a fourth person stabbed in what authorities have described as a family dispute.
Ruling out terrorism, the Phoenix Police Department said in a statement posted to its official account on X that no suspects were being sought following the shooting and stabbing incident that occurred in an airport restaurant outside the entrance to a security checkpoint in Terminal 4.
Police cordoned off the checkpoint in the aftermath of the incident, but no flights were affected by the investigation, and airport operations quickly returned to normal.
The altercation started at around 9:45 pm on December 25, leaving one woman in hospital in critical condition with gunshot wounds. Two men also had to be transported to the hospital after being shot.
A fourth male victim was stabbed during the physical fight.
“I do believe that this was a family dispute that escalated,” Phoenix police Sgt. Mayra Reeson said during a media briefing in the aftermath of the incident.
“Of course this was scary, this was Christmas evening, everybody’s trying to get home,” Reeson continued.
Two suspects, a man and a young woman, were detained in a nearby airport parking garage. Police have not yet said whether the pair face any charges.
Bizarrely, the Phoenix PD were called back to the airport later on Christmas Day following reports of a man armed with a gun. The suspect had apparently gone to the airport after hearing reports of an active shooter inside the terminal.
After being stopped by police, an argument ensued, and he ended up being arrested.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screened more than two million passengers at airports across the United States on Christmas Day. Despite warnings that airports would be busier this year and the last few years, the TSA ended up screening 624,000 fewer passengers yesterday and on the same day in 2023.
So far, the busiest day for the TSA over the Christmas Holidays was December 20, when nearly 2.85 million passengers were screened at airport checkpoints nationwide.
