(BIVN) – A Hilo International Airport terminal was evacuated early Tuesday morning, after two items resembling grenades were found during an x-ray screening of a departing passenger.
The items, later determined to be inert grenades, were found in a carry-on bag belonging to male Japanese national departing the country.
From the Hawaiʻi Police Department:
Responding to the 5:44 a.m. call, officers secured and evacuated the terminal area as a precautionary safety measure while the department’s bomb squad arrived on scene and determined the items to be inert grenades.
At 6:45 a.m., police arrested 41-year-old Akito Fukushima of Kanazawa, Japan, for first-degree terroristic threatening. Fukushima was transported to HPD’s East Hawaii Detention Facility and remains in custody while Detectives of the Area I Criminal Investigation Section continue the investigation. The airport resumed operations at 6:50 a.m.
Police remind the public that replicas of explosives, such as hand grenades, are prohibited in checked and carry-on baggage. TSA officers also have the discretion to prohibit any item through the screening checkpoint if they believe it poses a security threat.
