Posted on 02/15/2002 5:55:44 PM PST by TomGuy
According to prosecutors, the man said he was in a hurry and had hoped the box cutters wouldn't be found. It wasn't clear why he had them.
"We currently have no reason to believe that this was an attempt to hijack the airplane or commit any terrorist related activity," U.S. Attorney Raymond Gruender said.
The man, Joubin Kalimian, 33, of Great Neck, N.Y., made a brief court appearance Friday in federal court on charges of attempting to carry on an aircraft a concealed, dangerous weapon. It wasn't immediately known if he had an attorney.
Authorities said Kalimian boarded American Airlines flight 2947 from New York's LaGuardia Airport to Las Vegas on Friday. When the airplane made a scheduled stop in St. Louis, Kalimian got off the plane along with other passengers.
Two box cutters were discovered in Kalimian's pocket during a random security check at the gate where he was to reboard the flight to Las Vegas, said airport director Leonard Griggs.
According to Gruender's office, Kalimian later told authorities a third box cutter had been found by a security screener in New York before he boarded the flight to St. Louis.
American and its security screening company at LaGuardia are investigating; one screener has been taken off duty for retraining, the company said in a statement.
Griggs said Kalimian never left the secure concourse area at Lambert.
AP-ES-02-15-02 2052EST
Seems to be the standard reply for any suspicious incidents since 9/11 and it's gettin old.
MKM
... It wasn't clear why he had them ...Um ... yeah.
This raghead needs to go down along with the so called 'screener'.
Well dud! It's easy to see why he had three...It was in case he had to cut three boxes at once.
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