A handful of items found inside a passenger’s luggage caused an evacuation at a Peoria, Illinois airport. After an investigation, the items were cleared and the airport was reopened.
A TSA agent at the Peoria International Airport found things inside a bag of checked luggage that “closely resembled components of an explosive device,” according to a post from the Peoria County Sheriff’s Facebook page (scroll down to see the full post). The discovery was made around 6:30 a.m. Thursday, March 31, 2016.
Inside the bag were three sticks that read “dynamite,” a mason jar of liquid, and an aerosol can, according to the post.
An investigation immediately began and the area was evacuated, according to the post. A bomb squad unit was called and the passenger who brought the bag was found and questioned. The Peoria Journal Star was also reporting that flights were halted during that time.
“After questioning, it was determined the items were used as training implements for abortion clinics, to train employees how to identify suspicious devices,” read the post. This was confirmed by the passenger’s employer.
“Today’s suspicious package was not an active explosive device,” the post read. In an edit to their Facebook post, the sheriff’s office said that the three sticks thought to be dynamite were fetch toys for dogs.
An all-clear was given around 9:35 a.m.
