A routine baggage screening at an Alabama airport sparked an explosive scare when TSA officers found stolen historic artifacts inside a passenger’s bag.
The artifacts had been discovered within the checked bag of a passenger going by Gulf Shores Worldwide Airport (JKA), about 45 miles southeast of Cell, Alabama, July 18.
The TSA stated the artifacts — 5 Civil Battle-era cannonballs — had been found by Justin Dupree, a lead TSA officer on the airport, based on a narrative revealed on the TSA web site on July 24.
Whereas screening the bag, Dupree “noticed what seemed to be a big opaque merchandise on his X-ray display, which he initially thought is likely to be a medication ball.”
The 5 cannonballs, all of various sizes, had been wrapped in paper towels.
The bigger ones had been “in regards to the measurement of grapefruits,” Dupree stated.
“My first thought was, ‘I couldn’t see a fuse and have to get some assist fast,’” Dupree stated, based on the TSA.
“I couldn’t see all the merchandise however was scared I might need been holding a stay explosive.”
He shortly alerted his supervisor, Richard Money, a supervisory TSA officer.
Dupree, who’s been a TSA officer for about 4 years, stated he had “by no means seen something fairly this distinctive.”
“I’ve seen inert grenades and coaching munitions however by no means an Indiana Jones-esque stolen artifact-type state of affairs,” Dupree stated.
Money analyzed the X-ray picture and agreed with Dupree that the cannonballs may pose a hazard.
Regional TSA explosives specialists had been notified, and native police and deputies with the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Workplace responded to the airport.
“It was my first time coping with a probably stay explosive.”
Money informed TSA officers that he “had by no means seen something like this.”
“It was my first time coping with a probably stay explosive, and it’s really solely the second incident we’ve had since JKA opened in Could 2025,” he stated.
The cannonballs had been prohibited from the plane as a result of they had been categorised as artillery munitions, and officers couldn’t instantly decide whether or not they had been inert, Money stated.
“With help from the [explosives expert] and legislation enforcement, and since we had been unable to initially decide they had been inert, they might have been harmful to the plane,” he stated.
Officers later discovered that the cannonballs had been stolen from Fort Morgan, a historic fort in Gasque, Alabama.
The Baldwin County Sheriff’s Workplace informed Fox Information Digital a juvenile stole them from a storage space throughout the fort.
The cannonballs “had been being transported within the juvenile’s grandmother’s checked bag,” officers stated.
“Fort Morgan personnel had been in a position to verify the gadgets as their property resulting from paint markings they apply to artifacts,” the workplace added.
“The grandmother acknowledged that she didn’t know they had been stolen. Fort Morgan’s director selected to not press costs, so there was no additional motion from us.”
In an announcement, TSA Alabama Federal Safety Director Tara Corse stated she was “very happy with the nice catch and teamwork by Officers Dupree and Money.”
“Even when inert and never energetic, vacationers ought to keep away from bringing weapons of any variety, together with replicas, to the airport. They’ll trigger safety alerts, flight delays and security issues,” stated Corse.
Fox Information Digital reached out to the TSA for additional info and remark.
