A woman was arrested Wednesday after stabbing three people, including an Atlanta police officer, at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, authorities said.
Officers encountered 44-year-old Damaris Milton, who was armed with a knife, at around 4:45 p.m. outside the security checkpoint in the airport’s South terminal, according to police. By that point, officials said the woman had already stabbed the driver of a taxi she was in as the man was pulling up to the airport.
Officers tried to talk Milton into dropping the knife while restricting her movements and creating distance from nearby travelers. During that encounter, the suspect stabbed a woman and a police lieutenant in the leg as he was trying to take her into custody, officials said.
Another officer was then able to tackle and disarm the woman, police confirmed. Milton, who police said was not injured, was booked into the the Clayton County Jail on four counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
She was scheduled for a first appearance before a judge at 11 a.m. Thursday.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
The victims were said to be alert when they were taken to the hospital. Investigators are now trying to determine what may have led to the stabbings.
Sarah Nagem, who was flying home to Raleigh, North Carolina, after a journalism seminar in Atlanta, was in line at security when she heard a woman yelling.
Then she said she heard someone say: “Get on the floor, get on the floor.”
Nagem, who did not see the suspect, said she and others nearby remained on the ground for several minutes until officials told them they were safe.
“They were trying to reassure us that, you know, we were safe, that it wasn’t someone trying to create violence randomly,” Nagem explained, adding that the security line was at a standstill for several minutes before “it just started moving again, like nothing had happened.”
Several people on social media posted about the disturbance. A video circulating appeared to show the suspect yelling while waving the knife as two officers handled the situation.
Editor’s note: The video below shows a part of Wednesday’s commotion. Viewer discretion is advised.
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