Jul 2, 2008 11:58 am US/Pacific
Man Arrested At LAX Following Alleged Bomb Threat
LOS ANGELES
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A man was arrested Wednesday after he allegedly told police he had a bomb at LAX.
CBS
A man has been detained after allegedly making a bomb threat to police at Los Angeles International Airport, according to the FBI.
Authorities shut down traffic near the airport's terminal 3 while the threat was investigated.
Police said Wednesday afternoon that a search of the bag the man was carrying turned up no explosives.
"A pedestrian walked up to [officers] and stated 'I'm a terrorist. I have a bomb in the bag and I'm going to explode it now," Airport Police Sgt. Jim Holcombe told reporters.
FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller says the man was detained Wednesday morning and his backpack was seized for inspection.
The man's identity has not been released. But he was described as between 25-30 years old and "not white, not Hispanic, not black."
Serene Branson, reporting for KCAL 9, said the suspect's name is Scott Juhun Lee of Irvine. He was reportedly born in 1981.
He was booked on a charge of "making a false bomb threat" and bail was set at $20,000.
Traffic was shut down for a time near the airport's terminal 3 and the international terminal.
Both levels of the airport road, arrivals and departures, were shut snarling traffic with especially-high levels of congestion because of the approaching holiday weekend.
A little after noon, police reportedly used a water cannon to blow up the bag.
A little less than an hour later, a bomb squad team was able to inspect the bag and determine the contents were not explosive.
Delays in departing and arriving flights ranged from 30 minutes to 2 hours, according to LAX Public Relations Director Nancy Castles.
She said more than 20,000 passengers were affected.
By 3 p.m., some airlines were still working to get back on schedule.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
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