The Transportation Security Administration has kept it secret that its officers keep finding firearms in luggage at airport security checkpoints. However, rarely does anyone pull out a gun and actually start shooting in an airport. One of those rare instances happened at Love Field in Dallas in July 2022 when a woman opened fire into the ceiling. She has not been found not guilty by reason of insanity.
On July 26, 2022. Portia Odufuwa was dropped off at Love Field and then walked into a bathroom. Surveillance camera footage showed her reemerging wearing a hoodie. Accounts stated that Odufuwa rambled about rapper Chris Brown being her husband and threatened to blow up the airport. Then, she escalated the situation by pulling out a handgun and shooting into the ceiling of the baggage claim area.
The airport was evacuated and flights were canceled as the police dealt with the situation. According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Odufuwa shot at a Dallas police officer taking cover behind a ticket kiosk. The police returned fire, hitting her in the leg. No one else was hurting during the shooting. The then-37-year-old woman was charged with aggravated assault against a public servant.
A Dallas County District judge found Odufuwa not guilty of the charge and waived her right to a jury. Odufuwa was committed to a 30-day stint at the maximum security unit of North Texas State Hospital’s Vernon Campus. She had been before the court multiple times, including for arson. She openly admitted in an affidavit that she started the house fire, “I am God’s prophet, and I need an attorney, but I’m basically letting you all know that I am the cause of this fire.”
It’s still unclear how Odufuwa gained possession of the gun used in the shooting. Dallas police stated that she has been legally prohibited from owning a firearm since 2018.
