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Man Arrested at Air Show

Aired May 18, 2002 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A man who made a number of threats this week toward an air show in Chattanooga is now in police custody. He was arrested today after entering the air show without proper identification. Police say he had two to three suspicious devices and explosives residue on his hands. The devices have been detonated.

We have on the telephone with us now PIO of Chattanooga police, Ed Buice. He's with us now to give us some more details on that.

So you've made an arrest of one individual, you have detonated two or three of the devices found?

ED BUICE, CHATTANOOGA POLICE DEPARTMENT: Well, there were three suspicious packages that were found about 8:00 this morning. They were rendered today, but I don't know if the word detonation is entirely correct, because, as I understand it, they were not explosives in those packages, but they were rendered safe because they were suspicious and a person was taken into custody for questioning.

WHITFIELD: Now, what was it about him that raised the red flag?

BUICE: In all honesty, what I can say about him is very limited at this point, but I can only say that he was taken into custody for questioning. Apparently some comments were made at the airfield or beforehand that did raise some suspicion.

WHITFIELD: So he arrived at the airfield, someone noticed him. Why did he look suspicious, exactly?

BUICE: Well, again, the packages were what initially raised some suspicion. They were found about 8:00 this morning, near the crystal south hangar, which is a private hangar at level field here in Chattanooga. It's also the hangar where the Thunderbirds, the Air Force acrobatic team, which is taking part in the air show. They were hangared there at crystal south. The packages were spotted, and the CPD bomb squad was called. They were checked by a canine and then were rendered safe by the bomb squad.

WHITFIELD: So what did these packages look like? Did he leave them at different locations near these Thunderbirds?

BUICE: They were on the apron of the airport there and also in a parking area near the hangar. Exactly how far away they were from the planes, I don't know. But they were rendered safe. They were what you call disrupted. Again, to use the word "detonated" is not quite accurate, but they were disrupted and no one was injured.

WHITFIELD: So it turned out that those packages did not have explosives inside, so therefore they didn't need to be detonated in those terms. But they were empty packages, they were bags, what were they?

BUICE: They were briefcase sized. Beyond that I'd rather not get into any specific descriptions of them, but they were about the size of a briefcase, as I understand it. The crowd which would have been gotten into the area was delayed a bit, a couple of hours, getting into the spectator area, and the few people who were inside that secure area with proper authorization were evacuated during all of this. But again, things are moving along again now.

WHITFIELD: OK. You've made one arrest of that one individual, and as we reported there was some explosive residue on his hands?

BUICE: That I can't comment on. I know that one person was taken into custody for questioning. Whether chargers actually have been filed at this point, I'm not aware of that. And any physical evidence that he did or did not have I could not discuss at this point.

WHITFIELD: All right. From Chattanooga on high alert there, PIO Ed Buice, from the Chattanooga Police Department. Thanks for joining us on the telephone.

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