WrightAvia
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Airline passenger carrying weapon arrested in Chicago, authorities say
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHICAGO (AP) - An airline passenger was arrested after he pulled a martial-arts weapon from a violin case and paced the aisles with it during a flight, authorities said.
Police said the 35-year-old passenger, whose name was not released, had boarded the Southwest Airlines plane in Oakland, Calif., with a nunchaku, two pieces of wood connected by a short chain.
When he started pacing the aisles with the weapon, a flight attendant told him to sit down and alerted the pilot, who radioed ahead to authorities. He was taken into custody at Chicago's Midway Airport.
"Officers were waiting for him at the gate, but the passenger tried to bolt after encountering the pilot at the jetway," police spokesman Pat Camden said. "He was acting strangely and started resisting."
No immediate charges were filed.
The man's father said in Friday's Chicago Sun-Times that his son is a classical violinist who suffers from manic depression and may not have been taking his medication.
The arrest follows the discovery of box cutters and other banned items hidden in the bathrooms of two Southwest planes. A college student who said he was trying to expose weaknesses in security was charged with a federal crime Monday.
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHICAGO (AP) - An airline passenger was arrested after he pulled a martial-arts weapon from a violin case and paced the aisles with it during a flight, authorities said.
Police said the 35-year-old passenger, whose name was not released, had boarded the Southwest Airlines plane in Oakland, Calif., with a nunchaku, two pieces of wood connected by a short chain.
When he started pacing the aisles with the weapon, a flight attendant told him to sit down and alerted the pilot, who radioed ahead to authorities. He was taken into custody at Chicago's Midway Airport.
"Officers were waiting for him at the gate, but the passenger tried to bolt after encountering the pilot at the jetway," police spokesman Pat Camden said. "He was acting strangely and started resisting."
No immediate charges were filed.
The man's father said in Friday's Chicago Sun-Times that his son is a classical violinist who suffers from manic depression and may not have been taking his medication.
The arrest follows the discovery of box cutters and other banned items hidden in the bathrooms of two Southwest planes. A college student who said he was trying to expose weaknesses in security was charged with a federal crime Monday.
