Man fatally shoots himself at McCarran
An unidentified man fatally shot himself Sunday afternoon in front of Terminal 2 at McCarran International Airport, Las Vegas police said.
Lt. Ted Snodgrass said police were called to the scene at 4:35 p.m., but he had no other details.
"I can confirm that it was a suicide in front of Terminal 2," Snodgrass said about an hour after the incident.
Airport spokesman Glenn Gardner said the 47-year-old man arrived Saturday at McCarran on a Hawaiian Airlines flight. The spokesman said he had no other information about the flight.
Gardner said the man walked across a roadway Sunday and shot himself on the sidewalk in front of an entrance to Terminal 2, the airport's terminal for charter flights and international flights. The terminal is located at the north end of the airport.
"That terminal's never really terribly busy," Gardner said.
He said the suicide occurred near Terminal 2's northernmost entrance, which leads to a Virgin Atlantic Airways ticket counter.
Gardner said Las Vegas police closed the entrance while they investigated the incident, but other entrances gave travelers access to the terminal during that time. He said no flights were affected.
The spokesman said he could recall a few other suicides at the airport over the years, but they involved people who jumped to their deaths. He could not recall any other airport suicides that involved shootings.
In June 2006, Las Vegas police shot a knife-wielding man who had taken a boy hostage at the airport.
The shooting occurred near the security checkpoints for the A and B gates in Terminal 1, and the 19-year-old suspect survived.
Two months ago, a woman was found hanged at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. She was found in a "secured bathroom" that was locked from the inside, and authorities said the death appeared to be a suicide.
Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710.
