A man wielding a machete and a can of wasp spray was shot by a TSA officer at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport on Friday night. The man, identified as 62-year-old Richard White, reportedly entered the TSA pre-line at around 8 p.m. and sprayed the agent who was checking boarding passes with the pesticide. White continued past the checkpoint and was accosted by two more TSA agents, at which point he sprayed more pesticide and drew a machete that he had in his waistband. He chased an agent through a metal detector before being shot three times, once in the chest, once in the leg and once in the face. A female TSA agent was also shot, though her injury is non-life-threatening. White also had a bag of molotov cocktails, officials said on Saturday, and it became clearer that White was mentally ill. In his car, he had smoke bombs and chemical tanks. His motive for the attack is still unknown. Following the shooting, White was taken to a hospital where he underwent surgery and was listed in critical condition and unconcious on Saturday afternoon, according to Sheriff's Office. In a statement released on Saturday, Jeh Johnson, Secretary of Homeland Security, said the attack was a "senseless act of violence." Johnson added that this incident is a "reminder of the variety of threats we face and the important work that the men and women of the Transportation Security Administration do every day to keep millions of passengers traveling through our airports safe."
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