Porsha Odufuwa, the person suspected of opening fire at Dallas Love Field Airport Monday morning, was previously arrested for an alleged bank robbery three years ago.
In April 2019, local news station KDFW News reported that Odufuwa, who was 34 at the time, was arrested and charged with robbing a Bank of America in Wylie, Texas. After police arrived, officers told them Odufuwa handed a bank teller a note instructing the teller to give her money. According to local news station KXAS-TV, Odufuwa was apprehended by police shortly after and charged with robbery.
Shortly after it was announced that 37-year-old Odufuwa had been identified as the suspected shooter on Monday, social media users made the connection to the 2019 incident.
Portia Odufuwa, the person suspected of opening fire at Dallas Love Field Airport Monday morning, was previously arrested for a bank robbery three years ago. A Dallas police car and an emergency vehicle are seen above on October 16, 2014. Mike Stone/Getty
“Dallas Police have identified the @DallasLoveField shooter as 37-year-old Portia Odufuwa. She has a criminal record. This is her 2019 Wylie bank robbery arrest photo,” KDFW News reporter Alex Boyer wrote on Twitter.
Similarly, KXAS-TV’s Meredith Yeomans posted a tweet saying, “Officials confirm the suspect in today’s #LoveField shooting was arrested in 2019 for a bank robbery in Wylie. Portia Odufuwa has been found incompetent to stand trial, according to court records. Case dismissed in lieu of civil mental health commitment.”
NEW: Officials confirm suspect in today’s #LoveField shooting was arrested in 2019 for bank robbery in Wylie. Portia Odufuwa has been found incompetent to stand trial, according to court records. The case was dismissed in lieu of a civil mental health commitment. @NBCDFW pic.twitter.com/d3cxsIfTla
— Meredith Yeomans (@YeomansNBC5) July 25, 2022
The Dallas Police Department said Monday that Odufuwa was dropped off at the airport and traveled inside to a terminal.
“Odufuwa entered a women’s restroom and a short time later exited the ticket counter area and fired a weapon multiple times,” the department said in a blog post. “A member of the Dallas Police Department nearby quickly engaged the suspect, firing their weapon and striking [woman] in the lower limbs…No passengers or police officers were injured. The suspect was transported to a local hospital.”
According to police, the shooting remains under investigation at this time and the FBI is currently assisting.
Airport updates passengers
Meanwhile, in a statement posted on Twitter, the airport said shortly after the shots were fired, airport officials ordered an evacuation and shelter-in-place.
“Operations are currently suspended and passengers are being released from the sterile portion of the terminal for rescreening by TSA,” the statement said.
Airport operations resumed around 3:40 p.m. local time, but passengers were still encouraged to check the status of their flights, KXAS-TV reported.
Newsweek was directed to the blog post after reaching out to Dallas police for comment.
An eyewitness account
While speaking with KXAS-TV, a witness to the incident, identified as Colby James, said Odufuwa made a message before opening fire that included remarks about her husband.
“She basically said her message talking about her husband was cheating or something. And she basically said she was going to blow this poor guy up. After saying that he pulled out a gun. She fired the first shot in the air and basically everyone scattered,” he said.
Newsweek was unable to independently verify the witness’s account.
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