Federal prosecutors announced charges against a Sacramento resident who attempted to bring an explosive device through airport security screening at Sacramento International Airport during the weekend.
According to U.S. Attorney Eric Grant, the 49-year-old suspect was apprehended while carrying what officials determined was a bomb capable of inflicting serious damage to an aircraft. The individual also possessed a torch lighter, knife, zip ties and additional suspicious items when detained.
Grant revealed in a statement that the suspect had concealed his face with a scarf and was wearing latex gloves during the incident. Authorities discovered the man was carrying five cellular phones, including one programmed with a 15-minute countdown timer and another displaying a text message from an unknown number stating, “we will be awaiting your call.”
Photographic evidence released by federal prosecutors depicts a cardboard cylinder roughly equivalent to the dimensions of a toilet paper tube, equipped with a green fuse. Following examination by explosive specialists, the device’s powder and fuse components “were determined to be viable and energetic,” according to Grant’s statement.
Grant explained that detonation of the device near an aircraft window during pressurized flight conditions above 10,000 feet “had the potential to damage the aircraft and cause a possible loss of cabin pressure.”
The suspect was taken into custody on Saturday and made his initial appearance before a federal judge in Sacramento on Wednesday. He faces charges of unlawful possession of explosive material in an airport.
Defense attorney Meghan McLoughlin, representing the accused, told The Associated Press in a Thursday email that “there is often more to these cases than the government’s allegations, and that the criminal process will reveal” her client’s perspective on the matter.
