Fake Bomb Used for Abortion Clinic Training Prompts 3-Hour Airport Evacuation in Peoria

Source: ABC News

The FBI and a police bomb squad were dispatched to Peoria International Airport Thursday morning after a TSA agent spotted what appeared to be an explosive device in a passenger’s checked luggage, sparking a three-hour evacuation, authorities said.

The apparatus -– comprised of an aerosol can, three sticks labeled “dynamite,” and a liquid-filled mason jar –- was later determined to be a training device used to teach abortion clinic employees to recognize suspicious packages, the Peoria County Sheriff’s Department said. The three long tubes labeled “dynamite” were actually “fetch toys for dogs,” the department said in a statement.

The passenger, a National Abortion Federation security staffer, was located at her gate and sequestered in an airport conference room, airport spokesperson Gene Olson told ABC. She was questioned and released without charges, the sheriff's office said.

According to Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Joe Needham, the woman, who had affixed a hand-written note to the item indicating it was used for training, told police she had flown with the items before.

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