UPDATE: A Depew man is facing multiple charges after police said he intentionally crashed his vehicle through a gate at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport. You can read more here.
ORIGINAL: One person is in custody after Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority police said the person "intentionally breached" a gate to the Buffalo Niagara International Airport runway.
Brian Patterson, NFTA police chief, provided an update on the incident around 1 p.m. on Tuesday.
Patterson said that around 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, a vehicle "intentionally breached" Gate One at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport and gained access to the secure area. The vehicle then crossed a taxi runway and the driver was apprehended on an inactive runway outside of a training airplane near the middle of the airport.
A security guard working at Gate One alerted police to the incident, and Patterson said from beginning to end, the apprehension took place within six minutes. After the subject was apprehended, officers secured the scene and rendered it safe.
"Behind me are the men and women that make up our airport division, and I would like to thank them as they all played a very important role in making sure we had a successful conclusion to what was a very scary incident," Patterson said during the press conference.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is assisting in the investigation.
Police said the person who is in custody is a male, and at this time, they believe he is a local person. He will face state and federal charges. As of now, he faces felony criminal mischief and felony criminal trespass charges, but Patterson said they can be elevated.
Flights were not affected due to the swift action of the security guard and officers.
You can watch the full press conference below.
