Related article: L.A. port bomb threat turns out to be a hoax
By James Beltran
The Associated Press
 Traffic is congested at Los Angeles International Airport after a bomb threat. No explosives were found on the man or in a backpack he had, according to an FBI spokesperson. (AP Photo) |
LOS ANGELES — Several flights were grounded at Los Angeles International Airport on Wednesday after a man claimed to be a terrorist and made a bomb threat, police said.
No explosives were found on the man or in a backpack he had, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.
The man was detained by police for questioning, police spokesman Jim Holcomb said.
The man walked up to an officer, dropped a backpack at his feet outside the international terminal and made threats, Holcomb said
“He said, ‘I’m a terrorist, I’ve got a bomb in the bag and I’m going to blow it up now,’” Holcomb told The Associated Press. Holcomb described the man as between 25 and 30 years old.
Holcomb said a police bomb squad squirted the bag with a water cannon and the bag did not explode.
Authorities shut down traffic near the airport’s terminal 3 while the threat was investigated. Flights at several terminals were also grounded, but normal operations resumed Wednesday afternoon.
Airport spokeswoman Nancy Castles said no one was evacuated from inside the terminals but the upper and lower roadways near terminal 3 were closed.