ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – After Friday’s shooting at Fort Lauderdale’s airport caused chaos and panic, the Albuquerque Police Department beefed up its presence at the Sunport.
APD said there hasn’t been any threats to the Albuquerque International Sunport, but said they are on high alert with plenty of officers on patrol in the area.
The shooting in Florida left five people dead, eight others injured.
“We’ve been working with the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and we have extra K-9 officers there,” said Officer Fred Duran. “The reason for that is just for presence.”
Investigators said the alleged shooter retrieved his gun from his checked bag in the baggage claim area — a process Rebecca Koskela is familiar with.
“I travel two weeks out of the month,” Koskela said. “The gun needs to be unloaded. You have to have it in a locked case. You have to show them that the case is locked and then you check it in.”
But Koskela said there’s one problem.
“My concern is what happens on the other end?” she asked. “Is there a process in place that says somebody’s just arrived with a gun? Obviously there was ammunition, so now what? It just seems like there is a big hole in security.”
Police couldn’t reveal what those processes are. They only said they’d be working with TSA to go over them or make any adjustments as needed. Right now, their main concern is to make sure everything runs smoothly the next few days.
Officer Duran said if you have plans to travel out of the Sunport this weekend, arrive earlier than normal because of the beefed up security.
