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American Morning

Bear-ing Arms

Aired July 17, 2003 - 09:37   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.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: In other news this morning, the Transportation Security Administration is investigating how a loaded handgun ended up in a little boy's teddy bear. Baggage screeners at an airport in Orlando discovered the gun stuffed inside the 10-year- old's bear.
The TSA's director of communication Robert Johnson joins us from Washington this morning.

Good morning. Nice to see you.

ROBERT JOHNSON, DIR. OF COMM., TSA: Good morning.

O'BRIEN: First, how was the gun caught? Was this the teddy bear that was going through the baggage screen screeners that were walking through, or was this something that was inside luggage?

JOHNSON: The bear was being screened at the security checkpoint, so it was X-rayed, along with other carry-on items, and really, Soledad, it underscores the point we've been making from the beginning, that we have to screen everyone and everything, even if it looks innocent. You never know where the threat will be or how it will be presenting itself to us at the checkpoint.

O'BRIEN: So what did the screeners see up on the screen? Did they see the shape of the gun, and then they opened up the teddy bear? Is that what happened?

JOHNSON: That's right. They noticed something that looked like a handgun, got the law enforcement officers on the scene involved, and through that investigation, which of course, didn't take very much time, discovered that inside the bear was a loaded handgun ready to go, and it could have gone off at any time.

O'BRIEN: There are reports that that bear was a gift to the little boy. Do you know where the bear came from, and do you suspect that the person who gave him the bear is the same person who put the gun inside of the bear?

JOHNSON: The FBI is investigating that, Soledad, and they'll come to that conclusion eventually. The boy received it as a gift from another child, a stranger from the hotel they were staying in on vacation about two days before coming from the airport. And you know, we've heard that advice over and over again, never take anything from a stranger, especially if you're planning to bring it with you to the airport. This is one of those cases where the family was quite shocked. They're not being investigated in any way from this case, but it still raises questions about how it got there, and what kind of damage or harm it could have caused had it gone off before it got to the airport or certainly while it was on the plane.

O'BRIEN: How unusual is this, or have you had other incidents that are sort of similar.

JOHNSON: People bring guns all of the time to the airport, and in many cases, they claim they forgot they had them in the briefcase or other carry-on bags.

But just recently in Hartford, Connecticut, we had a couple of cases, a man trying to bring a knife through the passenger screening checkpoint, slipped it down the back of the shirt of a 6-year-old. He was arrested, and then a 67-year-old man had hollowed out a compartment inside a prosthetic leg to contain a nine-inch long knife. He was arrested as well.

So, again, we apologize for strong screen everyone, no matter how innocent they may look, but we need and these sorts of stories point out the represent why.

O'BRIEN: Quick and final point for you. To that point, I was -- whenever I travel with my 2-year-old toddler, they always pat her down, and I've always thought it very strange. Clearly, there's not a threatening little person.

Do you think this incident and the publicity around it will go a long way to changing people's mind about this?

JOHNSON: Well, we want to continue to educate passengers about the reasons for the screening. Certainly, we started all of this after 09/11. We don't need to be remind of that. But those like yourself who are wondering why we think this is a good example, we don't want to do it, but we have to, because you never know what a terrorist plot might involve or who might be selected to carry a weapon or a dangerous item onboard an aircraft.

O'BRIEN: Robert Johnson, with the TSA, thanks for your time this morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired July 17, 2003 - 09:37   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: In other news this morning, the Transportation Security Administration is investigating how a loaded handgun ended up in a little boy's teddy bear. Baggage screeners at an airport in Orlando discovered the gun stuffed inside the 10-year- old's bear.
The TSA's director of communication Robert Johnson joins us from Washington this morning.

Good morning. Nice to see you.

ROBERT JOHNSON, DIR. OF COMM., TSA: Good morning.

O'BRIEN: First, how was the gun caught? Was this the teddy bear that was going through the baggage screen screeners that were walking through, or was this something that was inside luggage?

JOHNSON: The bear was being screened at the security checkpoint, so it was X-rayed, along with other carry-on items, and really, Soledad, it underscores the point we've been making from the beginning, that we have to screen everyone and everything, even if it looks innocent. You never know where the threat will be or how it will be presenting itself to us at the checkpoint.

O'BRIEN: So what did the screeners see up on the screen? Did they see the shape of the gun, and then they opened up the teddy bear? Is that what happened?

JOHNSON: That's right. They noticed something that looked like a handgun, got the law enforcement officers on the scene involved, and through that investigation, which of course, didn't take very much time, discovered that inside the bear was a loaded handgun ready to go, and it could have gone off at any time.

O'BRIEN: There are reports that that bear was a gift to the little boy. Do you know where the bear came from, and do you suspect that the person who gave him the bear is the same person who put the gun inside of the bear?

JOHNSON: The FBI is investigating that, Soledad, and they'll come to that conclusion eventually. The boy received it as a gift from another child, a stranger from the hotel they were staying in on vacation about two days before coming from the airport. And you know, we've heard that advice over and over again, never take anything from a stranger, especially if you're planning to bring it with you to the airport. This is one of those cases where the family was quite shocked. They're not being investigated in any way from this case, but it still raises questions about how it got there, and what kind of damage or harm it could have caused had it gone off before it got to the airport or certainly while it was on the plane.

O'BRIEN: How unusual is this, or have you had other incidents that are sort of similar.

JOHNSON: People bring guns all of the time to the airport, and in many cases, they claim they forgot they had them in the briefcase or other carry-on bags.

But just recently in Hartford, Connecticut, we had a couple of cases, a man trying to bring a knife through the passenger screening checkpoint, slipped it down the back of the shirt of a 6-year-old. He was arrested, and then a 67-year-old man had hollowed out a compartment inside a prosthetic leg to contain a nine-inch long knife. He was arrested as well.

So, again, we apologize for strong screen everyone, no matter how innocent they may look, but we need and these sorts of stories point out the represent why.

O'BRIEN: Quick and final point for you. To that point, I was -- whenever I travel with my 2-year-old toddler, they always pat her down, and I've always thought it very strange. Clearly, there's not a threatening little person.

Do you think this incident and the publicity around it will go a long way to changing people's mind about this?

JOHNSON: Well, we want to continue to educate passengers about the reasons for the screening. Certainly, we started all of this after 09/11. We don't need to be remind of that. But those like yourself who are wondering why we think this is a good example, we don't want to do it, but we have to, because you never know what a terrorist plot might involve or who might be selected to carry a weapon or a dangerous item onboard an aircraft.

O'BRIEN: Robert Johnson, with the TSA, thanks for your time this morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com