Gun Detected In Carry-On Of DFW Airport Passenger
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - A 65-year-old Little Elm woman was taken into custody on Wednesday morning after she made it through a DFW International Airport security checkpoint and onto a Houston-bound jet with a .38-caliber handgun. Now, the FBI and DFW Department of Public Safety are investigating.
At around 6:20 a.m. Wednesday morning, the TSA said that agents detected the gun in Judith Kenney's carry-on bag. The TSA said she left the checkpoint in Terminal D before the screening process was completed, and took her bag with the gun.
The TSA said she was supposed to have been held for a secondary screening. No word on why she was allowed to leave with the bag that had a gun after TSA agents detected the weapon.
A short time after the incident, the TSA alerted DFW Airport police, who did not allow any passengers to get on or off the Skylink train that connects the terminals. Authorities swept all five terminals and boarded a few planes to search for the woman. Police eventually found the woman at 8:00 a.m. on board American Airlines Flight 2385 to Houston. Authorities removed her from the plane and questioned her throughout the afternoon.
"We found this woman with a weapon on board an aircraft that was bound for Houston, an American Airlines plane. It had pulled away from the gate and was called back for further inspection," said DFW spokesman David Magana.
Kenney has been charged with carrying a prohibited weapon into a secure area, a third-degree felony in Texas. The suspect's attorney, David Finn, said his client is "very embarrassed and sorry about what happened." Magana did not expect any federal charges.
Kenney told police that she forgot the gun was in her bag. In all, 10 flights were delayed at DFW Airport on Wednesday morning, for about 20 to 25 minutes. Operations have now returned to normal, although passengers were confused as to how a gun could get by security like this.
"I was surprised they let a gun through. I didn't know it was a gun until I talked to the ticketing guy," said passenger Kim Lau. "I don't know how this falls through."
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