STATUS: LAX TRAFFIC AND AIRLINE OPERATIONS

FINAL:  July 2, 2008 – 10 p.m. PDT – This is a statement from the Los Angeles Police Department on the disposition of the suspect.

            (Los Angeles, California – July 2, 2008)  LAX and the surrounding area were brought to a virtual stand still Tuesday morning when a man walked up to a Los Angeles World Airport Police Officer and said that he was carrying a bomb and planned to detonate in front of the Tom Bradley Terminal.

            On July 2, 2008, at around 11:00 a.m., 27-year-old Scott Juhun Lee walked up to a police officer at the Los AngelesInternationalAirport and told the officer that he was going to detonate a bomb.  Lee was immediately detained and a mass evacuation of a large section of the airport began.  The evacuation and subsequent investigation involved officials from Federal, State, and Local agencies.

            After a careful and extensive investigation it was determined that Lee did not possess an explosive device.  Lee was arrested and booked for Making a False Bomb Threat.  He is being held at Twins Towers Jail on $20,000 bail.

            Investigators believe that Lee had driven his car to the airport and parked at an offsite parking lot, having made a reservation on an international airline.  It is unclear why Lee changed his plans and made this threat.

            The Los Angeles Police Department, Major Crimes Division, Criminal Conspiracy Division Section is handling the investigation.  Anyone with information can call the 24-hour toll free number at 1-877-LAWFULL.

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UPDATE:  July 2, 2008 – 4:30 p.m. PDT

            (Los Angeles, California – July 2, 2008)  Airport officials report that all traffic and airline operations have returned to normal following today’s police incident.

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UPDATE:  July 2, 2008 – 3 p.m. PDT   

            (Los Angeles, California – July 2, 2008)  Airport roadways and airline flights are returning to normal after a three-hour incident that began around 11 a.m., when a man approached Los Angeles World Airports Airport Police officers and said he was a terrorist and had a bomb in his backpack.  LAPD Bomb cleared the backpack threat at 1:02 pm after it was determined the backpack did not contain explosives.

            At 10:50 am, LAWA police officers were conducting a vehicle stop in front of the Tom Bradley International Terminal.  A pedestrian NOT involved in the vehicle stop, walked up to officers and stated, "I am a terrorist. I got (sic) a bomb in the bag and I'm going to blow it up right now.”  The individual placed the bag on the ground in front of him, and was immediately taken into custody by police officers without further incident.  The individual was a male approximately 25-30 years old.  He is described as not white, not Hispanic, not Black (i.e. “other” which covers Pacific Rim to South Asia).   

            He is being detained and questioned by local and federal authorities of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Joint Terrorism Task Force.  No determination on an arrest charge has been made at this time.

            A total of 131 operations (arrivals and departures) – about 6 percent of today’s scheduled operations -- were delayed more than 30 minutes to at least 2 hours.  There were 86 domestic arrival and departure delays affecting 9,396 passengers at Terminals 3 & 4, and 45 arrival and departure delays affecting 10,286 passengers at TBIT.  Total passenger volume today at LAX is estimated at 240,000 (arriving and departing).  CURRENTLY, a significant operational issue exists at Tom Bradley, where an estimated 4,000 people are in the lobby as airlines work to prioritize and assign ticket counters and gates for flights that were scheduled to depart during the duration of today’s incident.

            The investigation is under FBI jurisdiction and all media inquiries related to the suspect are being referred to the FBI. 

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UPDATE:  July 2, 2008 – 12:30 p.m. PDT

            (Los Angeles, California – July 2, 2008)  At 10:50 am, LAWA police officers were conducting a vehicle stop in front of the Tom Bradley International Terminal.  A pedestrian NOT involved in the vehicle stop, walked up to officers and stated, "I am a terrorist. I got (sic) a bomb in the bag and I'm going to blow it up right now.”  The individual placed the bag on the ground in front of him, and was immediately taken into custody by police officers without further incident.  The individual was a male approximately 25-30 years old.  He is described as not white, not Hispanic, not Black (i.e. “other” which covers Pacific Rim to South Asia).   

            He is being detained and questioned by local and federal authorities of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Joint Terrorism Task Force.  No determination on an arrest charge has been made at this time.

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UPDATE:  July 2, 2008 – 12:15 p.m. PDT    

            (Los Angeles, California)  The west ends of both upper and lower level roadways in the Central Terminal Area remain closed, affecting vehicular traffic and pedestrian flow to Terminal 3, the Tom Bradley International Terminal and Terminal 4.  Six aircraft at TBIT are boarded and awaiting permission to depart.  All arriving flights at TBIT continue to be processed through federal inspection, but arriving passengers are being asked to remain inside the terminal for their safety.  In the meantime, arrangements are being made for arriving passengers to leave from a different terminal. 

            Vehicular traffic remains heavily congested on both the upper and lower level roadways at the east end of the Central Terminal Area in front of Terminals 1,2,5,6,7 and 8.  Airline operations in these five terminals remain normal and passengers are encouraged to allocate plenty of time to make their departing flights. 

            Airport officials recommend passengers park outside the Central Terminal Area in economy parking lots and use free shuttle buses to their terminals in order to reduce the congestion on the airport roadways.  Motorists are advised to tune radios to LAX AiRadio at 530 AM for up-to-the-minute information on airport traffic, airline operations, security and parking conditions.

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UPDATE:  July 2, 2008 - 11:45 a.m. PDT