A taxi driver, a Delta Air Lines employee and an Atlanta police lieutenant were injured during a harrowing knife attack this week at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
Terrified travelers waiting to get through airport security dropped to the ground Wednesday afternoon as officers tried to subdue 44-year-old Damaris Milton, who authorities say was armed with a knife near the south terminal checkpoint.
According to Atlanta police reports, Milton stabbed her cab driver in the chest along I-285 near the airport after being picked up at the Kensington MARTA station. She then grabbed his cellphone and threw it out the window onto the southbound lanes of the interstate, according to police.
The bloodied cab driver, who works for Alphabet Taxi Company, followed the woman into the airport after dropping her off in an effort to warn travelers and alert law enforcement, authorities said.
“He came in after her and was screaming, warning other passengers she was armed with a knife,” Atlanta police spokesman Officer Anthony Grant said. “That’s how we got alerted.”
Two Atlanta police officers, including the lieutenant, spotted the woman inside the airport and followed her to the south terminal. That’s when a Delta employee was stabbed on the left side of her chest, authorities said.
An officer tried using his Taser on Milton, striking her in the leg. But police said that didn’t work because she had on multiple pairs of pants.
“Ms. Milton continued to walk toward door S2 and then made a left turn back toward the south terminal corridor near the window area of the main checkpoint area still armed with the knife,” officers wrote in their report. “Commands for the subject to drop the knife were given to the female subject. The subject did not drop the knife.”
As a second officer tried to use a stun gun on the woman, Lt. David Cannon deployed his pepper spray, according to the incident report. Cannon then slipped on the pepper spray and fell to the ground, at which point Milton bent down and stabbed the officer in his left thigh, authorities said.
Another officer tackled the woman and took her into custody, putting an end to the threat, Atlanta police said. Meanwhile, a tourniquet was tied around Cannon’s leg to stop the bleeding and a chest seal was placed over the cab driver’s wound.
The driver and lieutenant were both taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, and the Delta employee was taken to Emory University Hospital, authorities said.
“Our heartfelt thoughts and well wishes go out to the individuals who were injured during the incident, including a Delta colleague who was treated and released from the hospital (Wednesday) night. We are hopeful for her speedy recovery,” Delta said in a statement.
Cannon has since been released from the hospital and is recovering, according to Atlanta police, who said they have increased patrols throughout the airport in the wake of Wednesday’s stabbings.
Milton, who has an Orlando address listed in online records, was taken to the Clayton County jail, where she remained held without bond Thursday. She faces four counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
It’s still unclear whether Milton had an airline ticket.
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