TSA office near LAX evacuated after report of suspicious package

The TSA office near Los Angeles International Airport was evacuated for a short period Wednesday afternoon after a report of a “suspicious package” that was mailed to the location, allegedly by an ex-TSA employee, a spokesperson said.

Officials at LAX said the package was sent by Nna Alpha Onuoha, 29. He was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of making a series of threats that began when he resigned that day from the Transportation Security Administration.

“Out of an abundance of caution, the building has been evacuated,” LAX officials said in a statement.

Employees were being allowed to return to the building about 5:30 p.m, officials said. The package turned out to be “miscellaneous papers,” LAX officials said.

PHOTOS: Ex-TSA worker arrested

The incident was reported about 4:15 p.m. at the TSA office in the 5700 block of Century Boulevard, the Los Angeles Police Department said.

An LAPD bomb squad responded to the location.

Before he resigned, Onuoha had been suspended after he chastised a teenage girl in June about her attire.

Onuoha, a former National Guard member, was arrested on federal charges by authorities.

According to an affidavit in the case, Onuoha resigned about 9 a.m. Tuesday. About four hours later, he returned to TSA headquarters at LAX and left a sealed express mail envelope addressed to a TSA manager.

He then allegedly called the TSA checkpoint at Terminal 3 a few minutes later. According to an affidavit, he said the manager should open the “package.”

It was unclear Wednesday afternoon whether the suspicious package report was connected to that package that Onuoha allegedly referred to in the call the TSA checkpoint.

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Twitter: @LAJourno

robert.lopez@latimes.com