Man Arrested At PHL Checkpoint With Loaded Firearm
By Elizabeth Hur
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A scare at Philadelphia International airport Thursday night -- a man was arrested trying to breach security with a gun.
It was the second arrest at the airport in less than 24 hours.
According to sources, a 42-year-old man tried to get on a flight headed for South Carolina with a loaded handgun in his carry-on luggage.
Sources say the 42-year-old tried to board a US Airways flight, but was arrested at checkpoint F.
Police credit the work of alert TSA screeners who earlier in the day stopped another man, 29-year-old Joseph Picklo. (See Related Story).
Picklo has been federally charged with possession of a destructive device.
"They certainly are serious charges because this is a very serious matter. These are not items that you would wanna fly on an airplane," Inspector Joseph Sullivan of the Philadelphia Police Department explained.
According to sources, Picklo, of Dallas, Pa., was taken into custody at Philadelphia International Airport after suspicious materials were found in his carry-on luggage by security.
Sources say three M-80 fireworks, a canister containing black aluminum powder that was wrapped in black electrical tape and a lighter were found in Picklo's carry-on luggage.
Police sources tell Eyewitness News that Picklo told authorities that he was "blowing stuff up" over the weekend and simply forgot he had the items in his possession.
"He says that he has an interest in these items professionally and that he experiments with items and that he had forgotten they were in his luggage," Sullivan said.
He has been federally charged and remains in custody. Sullivan said more charges are possible as the investigation continues.
Picklo was attempting to board a flight to San Francisco.
Because of the investigation, Terminal D was shutdown for approximately 30 minutes.
This incident is being investigated by the Philadelphia Police, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Transportation Security Administration, and the FBI.
If convicted, Picklo could face up to 10 years in prison.
As for the 42-year-old, because he was not formally charged as of late Thursday night, police did not release his name. But Eyewitness News learned he will be charged with Possessing an Instrument of Crime and Reckless Endangerment.
Sources say investigators are still trying to figure out why the 42-year-old packed his gun in his luggage.
