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11 People Reportedly Passed Through Security At JFK Without Getting Screened Today
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Feb 20, 2017
Modified Feb 20, 2017
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By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Feb 20, 2017
Modified Feb 20, 2017
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[UPDATE BELOW]: Eleven people managed to make it through security at John F. Kennedy Airport this morning without getting screened by TSA, according to reports. Worse, three of the unchecked passengers set off metal detectors, and all 11 are assumed to have boarded flights. Comforting indeed.
The incident occurred at JFK's Terminal 5 at around 6:05 a.m. this morning, according to law enforcement officials. Apparently, TSA agents left a security lane open but unmanned, and surveillance video shows the aforementioned passengers breezing through.
The TSA did not alert Port Authority police officers about the security breach until around 8 a.m., the Daily News reports. By then, Port Authority cops were unable to locate the passengers who weren't screened.
We have contacted both the TSA and Port Authority for comment and will update if and when we hear back.
Update 3:56 p.m.: A spokesperson with the Port Authority provided us with the following statement:
Despite belated notification by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration, Port Authority Police attempted at approximately 8 a.m. today to locate 11 individuals who went through an unattended TSA PreCheck checkpoint at approximately 6 a.m. at John F. Kennedy International Airport's Terminal 5. Those terminal searches, initiated when a TSA supervisor discovered and alerted Port Authority Police to the lapse, were unsuccessful and it is believed the travelers in question boarded various flights. Port Authority Police were able by video to identify three people who got on a flight to California, where they will be screened upon arrival. Port Authority Police are continuing to assist federal authorities in efforts to identify and locate the other eight passengers.
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