Watch CBS News

Toy Grenade Causes Bomb Scare Houston's Hobby Airport

HOUSTON (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — A toy grenade in a passenger's bag forced the shutdown of a security checkpoint at Houston's William P. Hobby Airport Thursday morning, inconveniencing hundreds of people catching early-morning flights.

Houston Airport System spokesman Bill Begley said people were allowed to approach the checkpoint again after a bomb squad determined that the suspicious item spotted by a Transportation Security Administration agent was a "novelty grenade."

An Associated Press journalist was in the line when a TSA agent raised an alarm at about 4:35 a.m., forcing hundreds of people to move away from the immediate area on both sides of the security checkpoint.

"My wife and I were waiting to drop our bags into the X-ray machine and go through the detector, and I heard a TSA agent scream "Shut it down, shut it down, shut it down!" Everyone was looking around, confused, and people were ordered to "Clear out now!" the AP's John L. Mone said.

About 15 minutes after sending the tweet about the closure the airport said the device had "been removed" and they were working to get everything fully operational again.

The airport later gave some hints that passengers need to be more vigilant and be aware of what they're packing in their bags.

The situation happened just one day after police detained "an impatient passenger" who made comments about explosives in a bag at Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport.

Begley said the unidentified passenger's "inappropriate comment" prompted a bomb squad to close the international terminal for nearly an hour.

(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.