Saturday, April 28, 2012

Newark airport terminal evacuated after baby 'not properly screened'

By PHILIP MESSING
Last Updated: 6:30 PM, April 27, 2012
Posted: 5:12 PM, April 27, 2012

New York Post:

There could have been a bomb in that diaper! Cops shut down a Newark Airport terminal yesterday after TSA screeners let a baby slip through their security apparatus without being checked, sources said.

The terror scare happened when a woman waiting to go through the metal detectors was allowed to hand her child to her husband, who had already been screened, at 1:05 p.m. in Terminal C, Port Authority police sources said.

Realizing their mistake too late, red-faced TSA agents tried to find the family on their own and waited 40 minutes before notifying Port Authority police, sources said — and then tried to convince cops a shutdown wasn't necessary.

“Per protocol, the TSA notified Port Authority Police of the situation and pointed out that this was a low-risk situation and indicated that TSA officers were looking for the family in the terminal," the agency said in a statement.

Cops weren't taking any chances, and overruled the beleaguered agency, which is already under fire for a recent instances of absent-minded behavior. Police evacuated the terminal and sent in five bomb-detecting dogs, but neither explosives nor the family were found.

“What a waste of resources. This means that other areas within the command were left without K-9 detection so this problem could be addressed,” said one PAPD source.

Mom, dad and baby apparently got on their flight and took off, unaware of the panic they sparked.

No comments:

Post a Comment