Published On: Mon, Jul 12th, 2021

Man arrested for bomb threat to Fort Lauderdale airport

On Saturday morning, a man got into a verbal dispute with an employee at the ticket counter outside of a terminal at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. During the dispute, the man began to walk away from the counter but left his carry-on bag behind. When the employee instructed him to take his bag, he told the employee there was a bomb inside of it.

Wegal Rosen. Photo from the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.

The threat occurred at Terminal 2. Terminals 2, 3, and 4 were all evacuated and searched, leaving many passengers stranded for hours. Broward Sheriff’s Office bomb squad conducted the search, no explosives were found, according to the Sun-Sentinel.

Wegal Rosen, 74, was arrested and charged for false reporting concerning planting a bomb, explosive or weapon of mass destruction, a second-degree felony. Rosen is a resident of Century Village in Deerfield Beach.

After officials gave the all-clear, Delta Air Lines in Terminal 2 was able to begin readmitting passengers.

Some people criticized the lack of information provided to scared passengers throughout the event. There were reports of mixed messages. One passenger said that at first they were told not to leave. Another recounted their confusion regarding the event, thinking that perhaps there was a fire. One passenger, after a lack of updates, left the airport via an Uber. The all-clear was given soon after she was dropped off and she missed her flight.

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