"False alarm causes LAX scare"

Thursday, May 17, 2007

False alarm causes LAX scare
The Los Angeles (CA) Times


Part of a terminal at Los Angeles International Airport was closed for more
than an hour Wednesday night after explosive-detection equipment alerted
authorities to what initially was thought to be some type of ammunition
inside checked baggage.

Paul Haney, an LAX spokesman, said the items turned out to be two replicas
of mortar shells that apparently were bought at a novelty shop.

As bomb squad specialists from the Los Angeles Police Department
investigated, the upper-deck ticket lobby of Terminal 2 was evacuated.
Vehicles also were temporarily rerouted, creating traffic backups.

The LAPD soon determined that the items were not dangerous.

The passengers who checked the baggage were questioned, but a police
spokesman said no charges were expected.

The incident was reported at 9:35 p.m. and, slightly more than an hour
later, passengers were allowed to return to the evacuated portion of the
terminal, whose main tenant is Northwest Airlines, Haney said.

Flight operations, he said, were unaffected by the scare.

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