Machete-wielding suspect in airport attack dies

KENNER, La. (AP) - A machete-wielding man who was shot during a bizarre rampage at New Orleans' international airport died Saturday afternoon, shortly after authorities revealed that he had also been carrying a bag of Molotov cocktails when the melee began.

Richard White, 63, had been shot Friday night as he chased an unarmed Transportation Security Administration agent through a concourse full of frightened travelers - and in the direction of a sheriff's deputy, who drew her gun and fired three times. He died at 4:02 p.m. Saturday.

Sheriff Newell Normand said earlier that investigators discovered after the shooting that White had been carrying a bag loaded with Molotov cocktails: six Mason jars with cloth wicks soaked in gasoline.

There was also a barbecue lighter and a letter opener in the bag, Normand said at a news conference at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. Residue from smoke bombs was also found near White's body. White had dropped the bag during the attack.

The sheriff said White had a history of mental health problems but investigators were trying to determine the nature and extent of those problems. His family has been cooperating with the investigation.

White was a Jehovah's Witness and had refused "certain types of medical care," Normand said.

"Fortunately, he didn't seriously injure anybody," Normand said.

Authorities also found smoke bombs and tanks of acetylene, Freon and oxygen in the trunk of his car, Normand said, but investigators didn't know what, if anything, White intended to do with the materials. Normand said White is believed to be a former taxi driver, but added that investigators are still examining a variety of sources and databases to obtain his employment and criminal history.

Normand said White sprayed the unarmed Transportation Security Administration agents and several passengers in line at the checkpoint with wasp killer. He then drew a large machete from the waistband of his pants. A male TSA agent blocked the machete with a piece of luggage as White ran through a metal detector.