Jacksonville Airport Evacuation: Suspicious Packages Spark Investigation
Authorities evacuated Jacksonville International Airport today after a suspicious package was found on the premises.
Jacksonville.com reports that two packages were found at the airport. One was found in the terminal while another was found in the parking garage.
Police have already made two arrests. It is unclear what the men were arrested for.
After the evacuation, the airport issued a “ground stop” causing hundreds of people to miss their flights.
The Airport writes on its Twitter account: “Due to police activity regarding suspicious pkgs., JAX airport has been evacuated. Please check with airline for flight updates… JAX is on a ground-stop. Currently no inbound or outbound flights.”
The airport said that passengers that arrived on inbound flights were being bussed to hotels around the airport.
Airport spokesman Michael Stewart said that the investigation was ongoing. A bomb squad was called to the scene to investigate but it is unclear what they found.
Steawrt said: “There’s an active investigation going on…. I can’t recall since I’ve been at the airport that an entire terminal has been evacuated, and I’ve been here nine years. I have no further details … on any suspects or what the status is on any packages.”
NBC notes that the FBI is also involved in the investigation.
JSO bomb squad still on-site investigating. No timeline yet on when terminal will reopen. Thank you for your patience. @JSOPIO
— JAXairport (@JAXairport) October 2, 2013
@krambeck Our apologies for the inconvenience. Please be patient as authorities continue their investigation.
— JAXairport (@JAXairport) October 2, 2013
