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Old Man Caught At JFK With Knife Hidden In Walker
By
John Del Signore
Published May 3, 2012
Modified May 3, 2012
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Courtesy TSA
By
John Del Signore
Published May 3, 2012
Modified May 3, 2012
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The TSA has long been criticized for what overly-invasive security theater, particularly when it comes to elderly travelers. But the next time Grandma's crying about how she had to strip naked and show her colostomy bag for the nosy TSA, remind her that oldsters aren't automatically innocent. Today a TSA spokesperson sent us this photo of a walker used by a 69-year-old Bronx man who tried to get through security with a knife "artfully concealed" on it. Apparently it wasn't artful enough!
"Walkers don’t pass through checkpoint metal detectors, and instead they are inspected by TSA officers," the TSA explains. "It was during the inspection process that an alert officer spotted the knife, which was tucked alongside the frame of the walker." But instead of tackling the senior-citizen terrorist, the TSA let him go! A spokesperson tells us, "The passenger, who was ticketed to fly to the Dominican Republic, surrendered the knife to TSA officers once they spotted it. The man was permitted to catch his flight." Wow, has the TSA gone soft? Or are they just focusing more on threats posed by handicapped children?
Tagged
jfk airport
security theater
tsa
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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