Erroneous gun reports cause chaos at LAX

Robin Webb and Melanie Eversley | USA TODAY

A car crash just outside Terminal 5 at Los Angeles International Airport and an anonymous call reporting a man with a gun in Terminal 4 incited panic Friday evening and triggered a large police response.

LAX spokeswoman Nancy Castles said the vehicle crash outside Terminal 5 Friday night caused passengers to report gunfire.

"Apparently there was a very loud crash. People inside the terminal did not know what was happening. Some people panicked and they self-evacuated from the terminal," reported KCAL9's Derek Bell.

A woman driving on the airport's arrivals loop at about 7:30 p.m. lost control of her SUV, hitting another woman who was walking on a sidewalk before slamming into a parking garage across the roadway from Terminal 5, Los Angeles police Sgt. Mark Guardado said.

WZZM 13 tweeted that the car accident sounded like shots fired.

Soon after the car crash, an anonymous caller reported a gunman at a gate in Terminal 4, Castles said.

Police arrived on the scene and conducted a sweep of Terminals 4 and 5, according to ABC Los Angeles station KABC.

One Twitter user posted a photo of police with their guns drawn that the Twitter user says shows the inside of LAX.

LAX Police Sgt. Ortiz confirmed to NBC Los Angeles that no shots had been fired.

Terminal 4, which was evacuated as a precaution, has been deemed safe. Travelers must go through security again, Castles said.

Some 2,000 people were evacuated from the terminals, hundreds more were affected, dozens of flights were delayed and a few were diverted Friday night, airport officials said.

Both women in the crash were injured, the pedestrian seriously. Details on their conditions were not immediately available.

On Nov. 1, a Transportation Security Administration officer died and six people were hurt when a shooter opened fire at LAX. Paul Anthony Ciancia, 23, has been charged with murder in the case.

Contributing: The Associated Press