Salt Lake airport 'vulnerable' but 'not a soft target,' chief says

Salt Lake airport 'vulnerable' but 'not a soft target,' chief says

(Scott G Winterton, Deseret News, File)


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SALT LAKE CITY — The Salt Lake City International Airport is vulnerable to an attack similar to the deadly shootings recently at a Florida airport but is not a "soft target," members of the airport board were told Wednesday.

"Our airport operates at the highest security levels at all times," with a big enough force to respond to an incident, Craig Vargo, airport police chief, said during a presentation to the Salt Lake City Department of Airports board.

Vargo said he was not able to share publicly all he had learned from law enforcement agencies that dealt with the Jan. 6 shootings at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport that left five dead and six wounded.

He did, however, suggest to the board that the "message I think you probably want to be looking at in the future going forward, at least from a police perspective, and that is our airport is vulnerable, but we are not a soft target."

The police chief said Salt Lake's airport does have an advantage in the existing coordination between various law enforcement agencies, including the Salt Lake City Police Department.

He said training sessions have already been scheduled, including an upcoming "live fire" simulation of an active shooter at the airport that will be conducted late at night so "we can practice as realistically as we possibly can."

The exercises attempt to teach airport employees, tenants and others to "run, hide, fight," letting them know they have a role in airport security, including helping guide passengers in a mass evacuation event, he said.

Florida authorities, according to Vargo, found that communication with the public about the incident was a shortcoming. Reports of shots being fired in the Florida airport after the suspect, Esteban Santiago, was in custody, resulted in passenger panic.

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Nancy Volmer, the Salt Lake airport's director of public relations and marketing, told the board that in an age of social media, it can be difficult to control what's being said and make sure accurate information is being reported.

Volmer said the Salt Lake airport attempted to reassure passengers after the Florida incident that a security plan was in place and while authorities regularly practice for "an event of this nature," no changes in the plan were anticipated.

Igor Best-Devereux, outgoing board chairman, questioned whether more could be done to prevent access to "potentially an arms cache in baggage areas," weapons and ammunition legally transported as checked luggage.

Police said Santiago retrieved a legally checked gun box containing his weapon and ammunition, went into a bathroom, and, after loading the gun, came out firing randomly, according to the Associated Press.

Holiday travelers come and go at the Salt Lake City International airport on Monday, Nov. 21, 2016. Photo: Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
Holiday travelers come and go at the Salt Lake City International airport on Monday, Nov. 21, 2016. Photo: Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

Vargo said he was not aware of any efforts to change how weapons can be transported. He said the federal Transportation Security Administration deals with the issue.

"From a police perspective here locally, all we can do is enforce the law," he said. "This is kind of a sensitive issue here in Utah. We have a lot of individuals who are very strong gun rights individuals. I have no problem with that."

The police chief called for people to be reasonable, citing the law allowing weapons to be opened carried at the airport. Someone may have the right to show up at the airport with an automatic rifle, but he said "it's not necessarily smart."

Vargo said airport police would approach such a person, and "if we feel that we need to stay on that person's left hip to allow them to carry that gun," they'll do it, to ensure others feel safe.

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Lisa Riley Roche

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