‘I’ll blow everything up’: New footage of Almaty airport hostage incident emerges

Tengrinews.kz – The man who took an airport employee hostage in Almaty threatened to detonate an explosion, as seen in newly released footage.

A video sent to Tengrinews.kz shows the suspect holding the female employee by the hair while shouting that he would 'blow everything up'.

The incident occurred on March 7 in the pre-flight security check area of the domestic terminal (T1). At approximately 11:45 AM local time, the suspect, posing as a passenger, entered the checkpoint. When airport security personnel asked him to present his documents, he grabbed the officer by the hair and threatened her with a knife.

Authorities later confirmed that the attacker is a 67-year-old man. During negotiations, a bystander courageously offered to take the woman’s place as a hostage. Seizing the right moment, another man in a brown T-shirt disarmed the attacker, allowing law enforcement officers to detain him.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has since ordered that the hero who intervened be awarded a state honor.