Arrest made in LAX bomb scare

A man was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport after he approached security officers saying that he was a terrorist and in possession of a bomb, authorities at the facility reported yesterday.

Upper- and lower-level roads accessing the terminals were immediately closed to traffic after the man made his threat outside the Tom Bradley International Terminal, added the authorities. Bomb squad officials from the Los Angeles Police Department examined the bag the man was carrying and said that it contained only “junk.”

Traffic flow to the central terminal remained suspended by LAX Airport Police for a couple of hours. Traffic to and from Terminals 1 and 2 on the airport’s north side, and Terminals 5, 6, 7 and 8 was unaffected.

Departures of aircraft from Terminals 3 and 4 and at the International Terminal were delayed, with planes held at their gates, officials said. Despite reports that schedules would not be interrupted, six flights were delayed because passengers had difficulties in reaching the gates on time.

Toronto-bound passenger Kevin Andurs commented that he was on a flight scheduled to leave at 12:30 p.m., but he said missed the flight trying to make his way through the “mile-long lines” resulting from the bomb scare.

TV actor William Petersen, from the show “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” waited for an American Airlines flight to depart, while police investigated the security threat. He commented that most travelers seemed calm.

“Whenever I’m in this situation, there’s usually a set,” Petersen said, when asked about whether he was watching TV during the delay.

www.lawa.org/lax