Something tells me he doesn't sit around and read books all day.
Posted on 01/20/2007 12:02:12 PM PST by etlib
SEATTLE – How could anyone – let alone a 9-year-old – talk his way onto two flights without a reservation in the post-Sept. 11 era? That's what federal and airline officials have been scrambling to figure out since Semaj Booker made his improbable journey from Washington state to Texas.
Southwest Airlines was still looking into how the 4-foot-9, 80-pound fourth-grader made his way through security and onto two flights Monday, from Seattle to Phoenix and then to San Antonio. Semaj, said to have been trying to reach his grandfather in Dallas, also is accused of leading police on a high-speed chase in a stolen car Sunday.
“This is such an unusual situation; there's a lot of facets to it that we're looking into,” airline spokeswoman Marilee McInnis said yesterday.
Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Wash., has asked the Transportation Security Administration to determine how the boy got another passenger's name to get on board.
“As Norm says, we spend billions of dollars inconveniencing the American public and making things safe – we think,” said Dicks' spokesman, George Behan. “Then a 9-year-old comes walking through.”
The TSA was working with Southwest to find out more details, said Jennifer Peppin, a spokeswoman for the agency.
She noted that the boy had a proper boarding pass, which is necessary to clear federal screening. How he came about getting that pass from Southwest was “their issue,” Peppin said.
In a statement Wednesday, Southwest said the boy was issued a boarding pass at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport after he gave information matching a reservation and told workers his mother was already in the boarding area.
Yesterday, Semaj was being held at a center for runaways in Bexar County, which includes San Antonio. Semaj was stopped by Southwest employees at the airport there when he tried to board a Dallas-bound flight.
The boy probably will remain at the center until his grandfather or another guardian can take custody of him, said Fred Wist, a prosecutor in Washington state's Pierce County.
Wist has filed charges against Semaj in connection with Sunday's high-speed pursuit. Authorities say the boy, who has run away before, eluded police at speeds up to 90 mph until he took an exit and the engine blew. He was returned home but ran away again Monday.
Semaj's mother, Sakinah Booker, 29, has said her son dislikes the Lakewood neighborhood where the family lives and is afraid of a sex offender who lives nearby. Wist said yesterday that investigators had confirmed a sex offender was living in the area, but there had been no reports of any contact with the child.
Wist said it's too early to say whether his office will proceed with charges if Semaj is returned to Washington state.
The kid is also smart enough to put blame on a sex offender living near him.
Just imagine a 9 year old Muslim boy with a bomb strapped to himself under his jacket.
Wow, what an amazing and scary tale! Kids these days, I tell yuh...
Good grief. Stole a boarding pass, finagled two free airline flights, stole a car, led police on a 90 MPH chase, blew the engine, and he's only 9 years old?
What will he manage to accomplish when he's 18?
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Maybe he's really small for his age. That would make it easy for him to sneak aboard, hide in a crowd, etc.
Can't wait until this one grows up.
My first thought as well. Next time it won't be a dry run.
Nobody thinks that a 9 year old is brazen enough to do something like this. If a kid that age shows up looking innocent and claims that he can't find his mom, people will fall all over themselves helping him get through the security and rigamarole. Islamics are not above using little kids for terrorism, so take note.
Especially after that incident where the Southwest flight attendant took a little girl off at Orlando, a stop too soon.
This kids sounds like a genius. I hope he doesn't get "educated" into something useless by the public schools, or co-opted by gangs.
That's a seemingly easy problem to fix, eh?
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Maybe we should check his DNA.
Basically, he's
smarter than the average bear.
That is a good one, since the kid has that good old american name. LOL , Oh wait Semaj is Chinese isn't it?
"Semaj" is James, backward.
I suspect this kid is bound for great things,
Secretary General of the U.N. for starters.
What was probably needed was a good spanking before the age of three.Wait till he hits the teens better reserve a cell for him now.
This relatively short article has so many topics. Kid gets slips through the system, 90 mph car chase, afraid of verified sex offender, being held in "center for runaways in Bexar County" like that is a regular problem in Bexar County. James spelled backwards. I get the drift this kid's mother is a real kook to boot. Where did she think he was all this time? Did she report her child missing?
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