Australia cops arrest man in airport standoff

SYDNEY, Feb 03 (AP): A man who falsely claimed to have a bomb and menaced a woman with a knife forced the evacuation of Brisbane International Airport for more than two hours in an emergency that police described on Sunday as elaborate and terrifying.

Police ended the standoff late Saturday by shooting the 50-year-old man with non-lethal bean bag shotgun rounds and arresting him. There were no injuries reported, and police said the emergency was not related to terrorism.

Australia's third busiest airport reported that the disruption had caused delays to arrivals and departures of up to three hours.

The incident began in the terminal's food court when the man pulled a knife on a screaming woman and placed a fake bomb on a table. Hundreds of panicked travelers fled the scene.

"It was a blood-curdling little scream, and she just bolted across the forecourt," a man, who was not identified, told Nine Network television.