Musician likely mistaken for active shooter at Calgary airport, police say

Police say amusician carrying an instrument seems to have been mistaken for an active shooter at Calgary International Airport Thursday prompting a lockdown of part of the international terminal.

The airport saidsome parts of the terminal were put under lockdown after a report that someone with a gun had been spotted.

Airport employees got an email saying two threats hadbeen made toward the international terminal by way of two phone calls on what was expected to be one of the busiest travel days of the holiday season.

Police confirmed they responded to a call from the airport "with regards to a possible disturbance involving a weapon in the terminal," but later reassured travellers that no shooter had been found.

A police spokesperson confirmed there was nothing to suggest there wasever a gun, but saidthere was a band at the airport at thetime, so it's likely whoever thought they saw a rifle actually sawone of their instruments.

"It was believed to be a musical instrument," tweetedConst. Mark Smith.

The Calgary Airport Authority also confirmedthere was no threat, but said some areas of the international terminal were still under lockdown as of about 2:30 p.m. MT.

Flights were delayed and travellers who had already been screened by U.S. Customs had to be recleared, impacting a couple of hundred passengers,said Calgary Airport Authority spokespersonReid Fiest.

"Ultimately what matters here is safety that is our first priority here," he said.

At about 3:30 p.m., the authority said services were resuming.

Arrivals, departures and baggage delivery were affectedand travellers were told to check with their airlines for information.

The airport said in a release earlier this week that Thursday would be the busiest pre-Christmas travel day with an expected 49,000 people passing through.

This was the second lockdown at Calgary International Airport this month. A suspicious package was reported at one of the entranceson Dec. 9, prompting officials to stop letting passengers exit customs and keeppassengers on at least 12 planes for several hours.

Police later said the package was a bag.

• Read more articles byCBC Calgary, like us onFacebookfor updates and subscribe to ourCBC Calgary newsletterfor the day's news at a glance