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NewsCut
Bob Collins

1,000 Words: The Florida shooting

People stand on the tarmac at Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport, after a gunman opened fire in the baggage claim area at the airport killing several people and wounding others before being taken into custody Friday, Jan. 6, 2017, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

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This video and photo suggests to us that we've entered another era when people are running across the taxiway of a major American airport and onto the runway in search of safety from a gunman.

This is the sort of visual that is so shocking, it's difficult to accept we're actually seeing it.

By the way, judging by the timestamp on the video and cross-referencing it with tower audio from LiveATC.net, the airport was still open at the time this video was taken.

Airport Shooting Florida
People stand on the tarmac at Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport, after a gunman opened fire in the baggage claim area at the airport killing several people and wounding others before being taken into custody Friday, Jan. 6, 2017, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

“At first we thought it was firecrackers," Mark Lea, a financial advisor from Minneapolis, said. “Everyone started screaming and running. The shooter made his way down through baggage claim. He had what looked like a 9mm and emptied his entire clip. People were trying to run."

“It was absolutely surreal,” he said. “People were scared and frantically running to avoid being shot. People were tripping over each other. They were trying to make a fast exit out of the door.”