LOS ANGELES - At least two people were injured Friday when a gunman opened fire at Los Angeles' international (LAX) airport, parts of which were evacuated as police swarmed into the area, officials and reports said.
LAX said there were "multiple victims" including an airport worker, but police said there was "no mass casualty incident" at the airport, while at least one shooter was detained.
Some local media reported that one of the victims, an airport worker, died from his injuries, but there was no immediate confirmation of this.
One eyewitness recounted a shooter dressed in greyish-green clothing with an assault rifle opening fire as he went up an escalator and through a security check area.
Live TV footage showed armed police on the top of parking structures, apparently still looking for a possible gunman, while multiple ambulances were parked outside a terminal building.
Flights were disrupted and a "ground stop" was put in place, but about an hour after the incident erupted aircraft could be seen resuming landings at the airport, to the west of downtown Los Angeles.
"Suspect is now in custody. Multiple victims," LAX tweeted.
Eyewitness Brian Adamick, 43, said he was preparing to board a flight when he saw people running through the terminal, away from a security area. He and others responded by going through an emergency exit onto the tarmac.
"While I was on the tarmac, I heard two gunshots from the same area where the people had been running and screaming," he told the LA Times.
A short time later shuttle buses began helping to evacuate passengers, and he saw a wounded airport worker, from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), board one bus, with a bloody ankle.
"It looked like it was straight out of the movies," said Adamick.
Another non-US passenger, named only as Alex, said he was waiting in line on an upper terminal level when a shooter, dressed in "greyish green" clothing, opened fire on the floor below with what he believed was an assault rifle.
"He shot one guy downtairs," he told KTLA 5, adding that the gunman then went up some escalators and towards a security area.
"He fired several shots when he went through the security check," he said, adding: "He just went straight through the security check."
The incident began at around 9:30 am (1630 GMT) at Terminal 3 of the airport, according to the LAX Twitter feed.
The LA Fire Department tweeted that its officers were assisting law enforcement at a "multi-patient incident at LAX."
But LA Police Department spokesman Gus Villanueva told KTLA 5 television that he believed there were two of three people injured, as well as the gunman.
"There's no mass casualty incident here at this point," he said.
A suspect was wounded and an airport worker was shot, the LA Times reported, adding that Terminals 2 and 3 were evacuated.
CBS2 television reported that a second suspect was taken into custody, about 45 minutes after the incident erupted.
TV footage showed one person on a gurney, being loaded into an ambulance. Another victim was seen being rushed away on a wheelchair.
Tory Belleci of the television show "Mythbusters" tweeted: "Heard gun shots then everyone starting running for the door. Not sure if anyone was hurt. #LAX."
The White House said President Barack Obama was kept up to date on the shooting.
Hundreds of travellers could be seen streaming away from at least one terminal building, while multiple ambulances and emergency vehicles rushed to the scene.