A flight en route from La Guardia to Louisville, Kentucky made an emergency landing in Philadelphia today after a passenger rang the alarm on a Jewish teenager carrying a prayer box.

The 17-year-old’s tefillin- a box filled with religious verses and strapped to the body- sparked fears of a terrorist attack among passengers. Although the boychick explained the purpose of the phylacteries to the pilot, his nervous demeanor and frantic praying frightened fellow passengers:

“Someone on the plane construed it as some kind of device,” said Christine O’Brien, a spokeswoman for the Philadelphia police Department.

The teen was taken from the flight after it landed in Philadelphia, and authorities searched the plane. Despite the fact that information about Jewish traditions is readily available- none of these people have apparently been on an F train in their lives- Fox News reports that passengers were “safely removed” from the flight. The flight was met by several fire trucks and police officers, and passengers were diverted to another flight to Louisville. It was unclear as to whether the teen was also on the second flight.

Senior law enforcement officials say that the yarmulke bomber was just a “nervous flier.”

[Image]

Jewish teen causes flight scare, diversion with religious items is a post from: The Inquisitr