Saying that you have a bomb at an airport is never a good idea. A man was arrested after he told a Transportation Security Administration agent that he had a bomb at a check point at Connecticut's Bradley International Airport.
Jordan Rickard, 26, of Charlotte, N.C., was asked if he has anything in his pockets while going through the security checkpoint. He responded, saying, "Yes, I have a bomb," state police said. The TSA then contacted troopers who are stationed at the airport. Rickard was taken into custody by the troopers. His fiancé was also taken in for questioning, but she was not charged, the Courant reports.
Rickard didn't actually have a bomb on him. According to state police, he was charged with breach of peace, falsely reporting an incident and tampering with airport security and is being held on $25,000 bail.
The incident occurred at around 3:12 p.m. ET according to airport director Kevin Dillon. Security screening were halted for about 25 minutes and there were minor delays at the airport. Two Southwest Airline flights were delayed.
Screening resumed at 3:37 p.m. once the authorities determined that there was no real threat. The terminal was never evacuated but the screening area was evacuated briefly as state police conducted an investigation. They questioned Rickard and had police dogs search the area.
Rickard will be arraigned Tuesday in Superior Court in Enfield.
The incident was especially alarming as the United States raised security levels and closed several U.S. embassies in the Middle East and Africa as there is a possible threat of an attack by al Qaeda operatives.
This isn't the first time someone got in trouble for saying they had a bomb at an airport. A British student was arrested in Miami after telling security that she had bombs in her carry-on bag. The 21-year-old girl did not actually have bombs in her bag.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
