Bomb in carry-on bag at Sacramento airport: 49-year-old arrested
A man from Sacramento was stopped with an explosive device in his carry-on bag at the international airport in the California city. He appeared before a federal court on Wednesday.
Stopped with device and knife at Sacramento security checkpoint
A 49-year-old resident of Sacramento was arrested on Saturday after attempting to pass through a security checkpoint at Sacramento International Airport in California with an explosive device in his carry-on bag. According to it.euronews.com, citing federal prosecutors.
The device — described by authorities as sufficiently powerful to damage an aircraft — was composed of a cardboard tube of dimensions similar to a toilet paper roll, equipped with a green fuse. Bomb technicians examined the material and determined that the powder and fuse "were found to be functional and high-potential", stated federal prosecutor Eric Grant in a statement.
In addition to the device, the man was carrying a torch lighter, a knife, cable ties and five mobile phones. One of the phones had a timer set for 15 minutes already ready to start; on a second device was visible a message from another number with the text: "we will wait for your call". At the time of his detention he was wearing a scarf covering his face and latex gloves.
According to Grant, if the device had exploded next to a window on an aircraft pressurised above 10,000 feet altitude, "it could have damaged the aircraft and caused a possible loss of cabin pressurisation". Before removal, agents covered the device with an explosive containment blanket and isolated the surrounding area with tape.
The man appeared on Wednesday before a federal court in Sacramento. He is accused of illegal possession of explosive material at an airport. In the federal complaint it is also claimed that, in the months preceding, he made "incoherent" telephone calls to the FBI, claiming to be threatened and intimidated.
His public defender, Meghan McLoughlin, stated on Thursday in an email to the Associated Press that "in these cases there is often much more than just the government's charges and the criminal proceedings will bring it to light" also regarding his client's history.
It was not immediately clarified how thoroughly the man was searched at the Transportation Security Administration checkpoint. Since last year, passengers in the United States are no longer required to remove their shoes at security checks, an obligation introduced in 2006 following the failed attack in 2001 by the so-called "shoe bomber" Richard Reid, who had attempted to bring down a Paris-Miami flight.
Source: Google News IT — Crime (it)