Australia’s Brisbane International Airport went into emergency lockdown on Saturday after a man allegedly entered the International terminal carrying a knife.
Following a swift and extensive security response, the man was taken into custody by police, who used non-lethal weapons to subdue him.
“There is no evidence to suggest the incident at the international airport is terrorism-related; it is a domestic violence-related situation,’’ police told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
“A man has been transported to a police station, where he is to be interviewed.’’
Local media reported that a large number of passengers had been disrupted by the incident with many being forced to evacuate.
Police said that the area was now under control but the public should avoid the international terminal.
Brisbane is the capital of the northeastern state of Queensland and its airport is the third biggest in the country.
The terminal reopened at 10.48pm after it was evacuated earlier due to an “emergency situation”.
“We have been given the all clear by Police to reopen the terminal. Operational staff will return first, followed by passengers. It will take some time to get operations back to normal. There will be flight impacts. We appreciate your patience,” said Brisbane Airport @BrisbaneAirport in a tweet.
Queensland Police described the situation as “domestic violence related” and confirmed in a tweet that there is “no evidence to suggest the incident at the International Airport is terrorism related”.
Police also said in a tweet that there were “no reported injuries to any members of the public or police”.
Members of the public were earlier advised to avoid the airport, which was contained by specialist police.
Police also conducted clearance searches of the International Terminal before giving the all clear.
According to local media, an eyewitness saw an older man holding a small knife as the incident unfolded.
It was also reported that the man walked into the airport holding a metal box with exposed wiring.
Speaking to the media on Saturday night, Detective Superintendent Tony Fleming said authorities initially “had concerns” that an explosive device may have been involved.
“It turned out that is not the case,” he said. “The presentation of the device and his demeanour gave us cause for concern.”
He said that the man had approached a woman who was known to him, and spoke to her, as well as another woman.
“It (was) at this point that circumstances deteriorated,” Detective Fleming said.
“During that period, we will allege he was in possession of a knife, and subsequently when police were involved we became aware of a device.”
Xinhua/NAN/Channels NewsAsia
