Toy Gun Causes Airport Evacuation
A 6-year-old boy’s toy gun and a security mix-up led to a major evacuation Saturday at the San Jose International Airport, causing flight delays that affected travelers nationwide, police said.
Police evacuated about a thousand people from Terminal A after X-ray checkpoint officials reported what appeared to be a handgun in a knapsack about 10 a.m., said Dennis Luca, commander of the airport’s police force. Luca said the matter was complicated when checkpoint officials returned the backpack to the owner.
Police eventually tracked down the boy and his parents when the boy’s father noticed the commotion and came forward.
Some of those evacuated from the terminal were taken off two Reno Air flights shortly before takeoff. Passengers in seven incoming aircraft also had to wait on the planes while police questioned and searched passengers for about 75 minutes, Luca said.
About 20 flights were affected.
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