Airport Terminal Evacuated After Grenades Are Found

A bag containing two roadside flares and five disabled grenades prompted the evacuation Thursday morning of about 5,000 people from the Tom Bradley international terminal at Los Angeles International Airport, authorities said.

No one was hurt and the grenades, though apparently real, turned out to have been hollowed out and “inert,” airport spokesman Scott Read said.

The flares and grenades were detected by X-ray machines in a bag that was being checked on a Seoul-bound Korean Air flight, said Sgt. Charles Oatts of the Los Angeles airport police. A 35-year-old Korean man was detained for questioning, Oatts said.

“He said he had purchased the devices in Las Vegas to use primarily as souvenirs,” Oatts said. “He indicated he didn’t know he was in violation of anything.”