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Man arrested at airport with training grenades

A 20-year-old member of the military was arrested after trying to get through airport security with two training grenades in a carry-on bag, police said.
/ Source: The Associated Press

A 20-year-old member of the military was arrested after trying to get through airport security with two training grenades in a carry-on bag, police said.

Transportation Security Administration agents spotted the grenades using a belt scanner at Yakima Air Terminal around 11:15 a.m. Sunday, Police Sgt. Tim Bardwell said.

The grenades contained live fuses but had no explosives packed around them, Bardwell told the Yakima Herald-Republic. The man was released Sunday afternoon while prosecutors and the FBI look into the incident.

Police locked down the small airport for a few minutes, then evacuated about 30 or 35 people while explosive experts from the Army's Yakima Training Center dismantled the grenades. All scheduled incoming flights stayed on the ground at other airports.

Authorities said the man lives on a military base in California, but Bardwell would not disclose his name, his branch of service or details about his questioning.

Police temporarily allowed the only incoming flight that was already in the air to land. Passengers were offloaded at the police precinct, a few hundred yards away from the terminal, Bardwell said.

Normal operations resumed around 12:45 p.m.