Slasher: Richard White, 63, died in hospital Saturday afternoon, the night after he was gunned down while trying to hack a TSA worker to death . The machete-wielding maniac who was gunned down as he tried to hack a TSA worker to death has died in hospital. Richard White, 63, charged at Carol Richel at a security checkpoint inside New Orleans airport Friday evening - but was stopped in his tracks by a female cop. He was carrying a sack of six Molotov cocktails during the attack, but was not able to detonate them. Lt Heather Slyve, of the Jefferson Parish sheriff's department, shot White in the chest, the thigh and the face as he lunged at Richel. He was rushed to hospital Friday evening and went into surgery, but died of his wounds around 4pm Saturday, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Earlier that day Richel had hailed Lt Slyve as her 'hero', saying she would certainly be dead if it weren't for her fatal intervention. Speaking at a press conference, Richel said: 'Officer Slyve is my hero. She saved my life. 'The man was within inches of whacking me with the machete and she did save my life, and saved probably a lot of others.' When he was shot, White was carrying a bag loaded with six Molotov cocktails - Mason jars with cloth wicks soaked in gasoline - Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand said. There was also reportedly a barbeque lighter and a letter opener in his bag, while smoke bombs and tanks of acetelyne (an explosive), Freon (an aerosol) and oxygen were discovered in the trunk of White's parked car. Scroll down for video . Saved: TSA employee Carol Richel, above, was inches from being slash by White. She today paid tribute to Lt Heather Slyve, the cop who saved her from the attack at New Orleans's Louis Armstrong International Airport . Dead: White is pictured above last night being wheeled out of the airport. He was in surgery last night but died 4pm Saturday of his wounds . Gunned down: White is pictured above where he fell, not far from the machete . But despite his stash of weapons, he only managed to spray several people with the insecticide, and swing his machete without hitting anybody before he was shot. In the struggle Richel herself was hit by one of Lt Slyve's shots. She later explained that she and her colleagues are trained for such situations, saying: 'It was second nature'. She explained: 'We want to make sure the passengers are safe, so we tell them "run, run, you've got to get out of here, run". And with that, we know they're leaving,' according to CNN. However, Richel said that because TSA officials do not carry guns, she was forced to rely on police to save her life, saying: 'They're the ones there with the weapons to be able to protect us.' 'Second nature': During the press conference, Richel (pictured front) said she and her colleagues had been trained how to react in such a situation, saying: 'It was second nature'. She said passenger safety came first . Injured: White was in possession of a bag loaded with six Molotov cocktails when he launched the attack, Sheriff Newell Normand said. Above, Richel is pictured being transported to an ambulance via stretcher . 'Senseless act of violence': This statement was posted on the TSA's Twitter page on Saturday afternoon . After White attacked two security officials and a number of passersby with the wasp spray at the airport's security checkpoint, he drew his machete from the waistband of his pants. He then started swinging the weapon, which a male TSA agent managed to block with a piece of luggage as White ran through a metal detector, Normand said earlier on Saturday. Seconds later, White began chasing Richel, prompting Lt Slyve to fire three rounds at him, striking him the face, chest and leg. White was then rushed to hospital, where he had surgery. According to authorities, residue from smoke bombs was  found near White's body at the security checkpoint. Hurt: An injured man - possibly a passenger who was hurt while fleeing the scene - is pictured at the airport . On guard: Police clear out the area around Concourse B of Louis Armstrong International Airport on Friday evening . Emergency response: Police poured into the airport  and ushered everybody away from the area where the shooting took place . The sheriff suggested that White has had 'mental health' issues. He is a Jehovah's Witness and has refused 'certain types of medical care,' Normand said. His family is cooperating with investigators. 'Fortunately, he didn't seriously injure anybody,' Normand said. Richel, a Supervisory Security Officer for the Transportation Security Administration, was struck in the arm by one of Lt Slyve's rounds while running from White. Her wound was quickly deemed non-life-threatening. She was treated in hospital and released hours later. Earlier reports had wrongly stated that Richel was slashed by White's machete. Photographs from inside Louis Armstrong International Airport Friday showed White laying on the floor with a machete close-by. Another showed a woman in a TSA uniform being stretchered away. Attack: White reportedly began swinging the weapon at the airport's security checkpoint, which a male TSA agent managed to block with a piece of luggag. Above, officers stand at the entrance to the airport . Other images depicted police flooding the area outside the terminal. On Saturday, bystanders described minutes of panic and chaos at the airport in the New Orleans suburb of Kenner. 'Everyone was ducking for cover. It's New Orleans. I knew they (the gunshots) were coming from the security checkpoint area,' said Garret Laborde, 31, a traveler trying to fly to Houston. 'I immediately ducked down... Then we waited.' He called the scene 'instant chaos' with 'screaming, lots of females screaming for a short period of time.' Laborde said he remained down for several minutes, before police began rushing around the airport, telling everyone to get back down. Evaucation sirens also started going off, he said. Disruptive: Long lines of fliers were seen awaiting word of their departures in the airport's ticketing area on Friday evening . Protected: Officers guard the entrance to concourse A and B at the New Orleans International Airport on Friday . Logan Tucker, 26, of Meridian, Mississippi, and Phillip Green, 33, of Houston, both headed to Houston for work as deckhands on a tugboat, said they were close to where events unfolded. 'I heard the gunshots,' Tucker said. 'It was pandemonium after that,' Green said. 'I took cover. I didn't want to become part of the story. The Sheriff's Office said Friday there was no obvious connection between White and the airport. A spokesman said: 'We don't know if he was traveling. We're still piecing together witness interviews.' On Saturday, a statement revealed that White  'had a few minor arrests' to his name. At a news conference outside the airport, Normand described Friday's encounter in detail. A deputy walks through Concourse B at the airport as the sheriff's department investigates the attack . He said: 'He walked down the TSA pre-line, encountered the TSA officer who was checking the boarding passes with the scanning machine to be scanned. 'He was challenged at that time by the TSA officer. The response was, he pulled a can of wasp spray and sprayed the officer in the face. 'He proceeded past that checkpoint and encountered the second TSA officer and a third a third TSA officer almost simultaneously. One was a female, one was a male. 'He sprayed the male in the face.' Describing the shooting, he said: 'The law enforcement officer proceeded down the exit line to come around, coming in very close contact to the individual with the machete, and that officer fired three times, hitting the perpetrator once in the left chest, the left facial area and the left thigh, at that point in time. Scene: The shooting and machete attack took place at Louis Armstrong International Airport on Friday night . 'There was an innocent bystander who sustained a graze wound to the arm and there were a couple of members of the traveling public, while in the scrambling, while shots were fired, that happened to cut some limbs on some of the furniture there while trying to get away from that particular area.'
Richard White, 63, lashed out with machete and wasp spray Friday night . Started chasing after TSA employee Carol Richel at New Orleans airport . But before he could cut her, he was shot three times by  Lt Heather Slyve . White, who was taken to hospital, died of his wounds at 4pm Saturday . On Saturday, Richel paid tribute to Lt Slyve, labeling officer 'my hero'
'The man was within inches of whacking me with the machete,' she said . Richel was hit by bullet fired by Lt Slyve, but was treated in hospital . Comes as police have revealed White was carrying six Molotov cocktails . Smoke bombs and tanks of acetelyne, Freon and oxygen found in his car . Incident occurred at city's Louis Armstrong International Airport Friday .