Security had already been stepped up at LAX following a bomb scare on a Denver-bound flight Wednesday night
KTLA News
LOS ANGELES -- A security breach at Los Angeles International Airport shut down three terminals for more than an hour early Thursday amid already-heightened security at the airport following a bomb scare on a Denver-bound airliner, authorities said.
Terminals 5, 6 and 7 were shut down around 5:30 a.m. Thursday after a man failed to go through a secondary screening, LAX spokeswoman Nancy Castles said.
The man, who was pulled aside for the second screening, grabbed his carry-on bag and went on through at Terminal 7 around 5 a.m., Castles said.
Some two hundred passengers stood in line outside the terminals waiting to be screened while authorities searched for the man. Passengers who had already been screened were allowed to pass through.
Just before 7 a.m., the man had been found and rescreened, officials said. Screening resumed at all three terminals but a long line of passengers was still visible outside.
The terminals house United, Continental, Delta which reported a total of 14 departure delays as a result of the temporary closures.
The incident comes hours after the airport stepped up security in the wake of a bomb scare on a flight from Washington to Denver Wednesday night.
A Qatari diplomat, identified as Mohammed Al-Madidi, was detained and questioned after he apparently tried to sneak a smoke in a bathroom on a United Airlines flight.
No explosives were found on the man, and officials do not believe he was trying to harm anyone. But the incident sparked a bomb scare that resulted in fighter jets being scrambled to escort the plane into Denver International Airport.
Al-Madidi, was detained when the plane landed in Denver Wednesday night. Authorities speaking anonymously to the Associated Press said he was not expected to be criminally charged.
In a statement, Los Angeles Airport Police Chief George Centeno said officers at LAX have increased patrols in the terminals and along the facility's perimeter following the incident.
"In light of a reported incident on board a United Airlines flight enroute to Denver Airport from Washington D.C, Los Angeles Airport Police has raised its security profile and visibility. Heightened uniformed traffic and terminal foot beats, as well as, perimeter patrols have been deployed. Los Angeles Airport Police also have additional security measures in place that are considered security sensitive," the statement said.
Police at LAX will stay in contact with federal authorities in Denver as developments unfold, according to Centeno.
Los Angeles Times
