On Tuesday night, officers of the Orlando police force were called to the Orlando International Airport to respond to a situation: apparently, a Man was threatening the airport's car rental area with a gun.
Fake gun used to provoke 'suicide by cop'?
It turned out that the gun was a fake, but this did not stop the incident from becoming a two-hour-long standoff between the man and the police. Waiting passengers fled, with some even hiding behind those concrete barriers that are commonly seen in parking lots.
Fortunately, in the two-hour standoff, no shots were fired and no one was reported killed or injured, according to a report by CNN.
The Orlando Police Department also later disclosed that the person with the fake gun was in severe mental distress.
"[The subject] basically wanted to do the whole Suicide By Cop thing," says John Mina, Police Chief of Orlando. A crisis negotiator was brought in to speak with the man, who the whole time was pointing his fake gun at the police officers, asking them to shoot him.
The police later identified the man as Michael Wayne Pettigrew, 26-years-old and a former Marine. The man surrendered and laid down his weapon after Orlando Police negotiators did "a phenomenal job" of talking to the person though the whole ordeal until he finally surrendered peacefully.
Mina added that their objective was to "contain the subject" and bring the whole situation to a peaceful resolution, which fortunately happened very quickly.
"We did recover a weapon, it was a simulated firearm," Mina finally said.
Pettigrew will be facing charges of aggravated assault with a firearm. He is currently being held for a full mental evaluation.
Incident had 'minimal impact' on airport operations
The incident apparently started as a passenger called David Hess entered the Dollar/Thrifty rental car at the Orlando International Airport.
Hess was in Orlando for business.
There and then an employee called out to him, saying that there was a man "out there with a gun," promptly telling Hess to take cover. The other employees of the rental car shop seemed to have no clear idea about what was going on.
Meanwhile, the other passengers scrambled to the parking lot area and they hid behind the said concrete bars.
Hess called 911, with a report saying that a man carrying a gun was threatening the safety of the airport.
The Orlando International Airport reported that the incident had little impact on operations, save for a few arrivals that were been delayed.
