A Texan woman who opened fire inside Dallas’s Love Field airport on Monday, bringing the bustling transit hub to a standstill, is a career criminal with a history of arson, bank robbery and trespass, who was declared mentally unfit to stand trial.
Portia Odufuwa, 37, once told police she was ‘God’s prophet’, and claimed she was married to rapper Chris Brown. She was ordered to attend mental health treatment sessions, but a judge decided in June 2021 she was not a danger to the public.
On Monday, Odufuwa was shot by police after she pulled out a gun at the airport, aimed it toward the ceiling and fired several times.
She was hit in the lower body and taken to hospital: no one else was injured in the chaos, but flights were suspended and the terminal evacuated.
Hours later it emerged that Odufuwa was well-known to the police, with multiple run-ins with the law dating back to 2019.
Portia Odufuwa, 37, is seen in a booking photo released on Monday by Dallas police, after she opened fire inside the airport
Odufuwa claimed several times that she was married to singer Chris Brown – pictured on July 9 performing at the Wireless Festival in Birmingham, England
In April 2019, she attempted to rob a branch of Bank of America – entering the building in Wylie, a suburb 30 miles from downtown Dallas, and passing over a note demanding cash.
Customers were moved to a safe location, and Odufuwa fled, but was found nearby running away.
She was found incompetent to stand trial and underwent both inpatient and outpatient treatment, The Dallas Morning News reported.
The case was eventually dismissed.
Six months later, police were called to a home on fire in Mesquite, another suburb of Dallas, and found Odufuwa standing outside, watching it burn.
She asked to speak to police and told the officer she was ‘responsible for the fire,’ according to an arrest-warrant affidavit obtained by the paper.
Asked why she started the blaze, Odufuwa replied: ‘I am God’s prophet, and I need an attorney, but I’m basically letting you all know that I am the cause of this fire.’
Odufuwa told police that she previously lived inside the house and returned because ‘it never fully burned down.’
Neighbors said she used to live in the house, and repeatedly tried to set it on fire.
She then told the police she could not talk to them any more, until she had spoken to her husband – who she identified as Chris Brown.
The case was ultimately dropped due to lack of scientific evidence.
Police are seen arriving at the airport in Dallas on Monday morning
Odufuwa is pictured in 2019 after being arrested for attempting to rob a bank in Wylie, Texas
Her most recent arrest was in April last year, when, angry at being asked to leave a hotel, she pulled the fire alarm.
Asked by police on the scene for her address, she gave the address of Brown’s home.
She was charged with filing a false report, but the case was dismissed in November and Odufuwa was found incompetent to stand trial.
Her address, in the court documents, was given as ‘homeless’.
Odufuwa wrote beside it: ‘Not homeless, just a situation.’
On Monday, Eddie Garcia, Dallas chief of police, said that the 37-year-old woman – later identified as Odufuwa – went into the restroom at the airport before emerging with a gun and firing most of the shots at the ceiling.
Police and the FBI are investigating after a shooter ‘fired into the air’ in the baggage check in area of the airport
Passengers were seen ducking to the ground after the woman, 37, opened fire at the airport and shot at the ceiling multiple times
All flights were grounded and those waiting to land have been redirected following the active shooting. Stock image of Dallas Love Field Airport in Texas
It’s not yet know what her motivation was.
One witness, Colby James, told NBC 5 that Odufuwa made an announcement about her husband cheating before she took out the gun and fired around 12 shots, aiming at the ceiling.
He said everyone scattered after she pulled the trigger near the ticket desk at the airport.
Max Geron, Chief of Police in Rockwall, was at the airport at the time and told his followers that he was evacuated following the shooting.
He praised Transportation Security Administration for doing a ‘great job.’
Dallas Chief of Police Eddie Garcia confirmed the details of the shooting at a press conference
Geron wrote: ‘Just got evacuated out of Love Field after an apparent shooting. Family is safe. TSA did a great job.’
One witness, posting a video of the chaotic scenes on social media, wrote: ‘What just happened?
‘A group of people were running and yelling ‘run’ and we all immediately took cover. Nothing has been communicated to us.
‘Everything seems to be calm now. It was most certainly a scary experience for all.’
Another witnesses said: ‘Shots were fired in the air. People began to take cover and run. Within minutes Dallas PD handled the situation.
‘I don’t believe anyone, but the shooter was injured.’