Man Arrested At LAX Following Alleged Bomb Threat
The FBI says a man has been detained after allegedly making a bomb threat to police at Los Angeles International Airport.
Authorities shut down traffic near the airport’s terminal 3 while the threat was investigated.
Airport police told CBS station KCBS-TV in Los Angeles airport roads have since been reopened but they’re gridlocked.
FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller says the man was detained Wednesday morning and his backpack was seized for inspection. She says police bomb squads were investigating.
Airport spokeswoman Nancy Castles says an unspecified item has been isolated outside a terminal. Castles says she cannot confirm reports that it is a backpack.
Zach Behrens, editor of the blog LAist, said his girlfriend, Megan Cottier, has been texting him and calling him from the airport.
Cottier said she heard an explosion around 12:22 p.m. as she was waiting to get into terminal 3. Unconfirmed reports to KCBS say the sound was a suspect bag being detonated.
The name of the detained man has not been released.
No one was evacuated from inside terminals and the upper and lower roadways near the terminal have been reopened, according to LAX police.
However, traffic is completely gridlocked both entering and exiting the airport.