Nna Alpha Onuoha, 29, is in police custody after being
apprehended just before midnight on Tuesday outside of a church
in Riverside, California near Los Angeles.
Onuoha resigned from the TSA earlier Tuesday, Sept. 10, after
more than six years of employment as a security screener at Los
Angeles International Airport. After walking away from his TSA
gig, Onuoha allegedly phoned in threats to LAX and left a
suspicious package at the airport that prompted the Los Angeles
Police Department to deploy their bomb squad.
After police addressed the suspicious package at TSA’s LAX
headquarters, a man believed to be Onuoha dialed up the airport
and demanded that employees “begin evacuating certain
terminals.”
According to a local NBC affiliate, Onuoha is accused of calling
up TSA and warning an agent on the other end of the line that he
would “be watching” to see if they followed his orders.
The airport was evacuated, but the LAPD did not find any evidence
suggesting an attack of sorts was imminent.
The package left at TSA headquarters – addressed to a former
co-worker of Onuoha – reportedly contained an eight-page letter
critical of the United States and the TSA. An investigation at
Onuoha’s Inglewood, CA residence later in the day turned up a
note taped to the inside of his closet. Federal Bureau of
Investigation spokeswoman Laura Einmiller told reporters that the
letter contained “an unspecified threat citing the 9/11/13
anniversary.”
Investigators tracked down Onuoha later that evening after
locating his vehicle at the Riverside’s Harvest Christian
Fellowship Church. Riverside Police Lt. Milby told NBC4 that more
suspicious packages were located in Onuoha’s car, and a bomb
squad was once again called to assist.
Los Angeles Airport Police Chief Patrick M. Gannon issued a
statement amid the manhunt for Onuoha saying that three major
area traffic hubs would see an increased police presence
following what was described as an incidence at LAX “involving
a disgruntled former airport worker and the 9/11 anniversary
tragedy.”
The FBI told NBC that Onuoha is suspected of violating federal
and state laws involving the making of terrorist threats, but
have not immediately filed charges.
Onuoha’s resignation came one day short of commemorating 12 years
since al-Qaeda extremists hijacked four airlines and crashed them
into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania
field. Roughly 3,000 people died in the terrorist attacks.
Copyright: RT