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A bomb was discovered in a major Puerto Rican airport, causing the immediate shutdown and evacuation of the facility. A person carried the bomb into Terminal B security checking area, where the yet-to-be-identified suspect was apprehended and taken into custody by authorities.
At 11:30 A.M. local time, the suspect holding the bomb was arrested.
Aerostar is the company that manages the Luis Munoz Marin airport. The chief operating officer Nelman Nevares said, “The central security point was closed in response to a possible explosive article, inside a passenger’s hand luggage.”
Nevares also said that the incident roused the attention of emergency security protocol and the FBI. Both the regular police and the department’s explosive unit arrived on the scene.
“The central terminal (B) was evacuated, the spaces were closed off the counters,” Nevares said, also mentioning that the incident had a ripple effect delaying flights from American Airlines and Southwest Airlines.
At about 12:30 P.M. local time, the airport reopened while workers and commuters resumed their daily objectives.
“We are now recovering normalcy. There is a rather heavy operation, but we are regaining order, said Nevares. “Already the authorities gave us the OK to re-operate normally.”
A spokesperson for Puerto Rico police said: “The apparent explosive device has been removed for analysis and they normalize operations at the Luis Munoz Marin airport.”
