CHICAGO AIRPORT - Man arrested with 7 knives and a stun gun

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Man arrested at Chicago airport trying to board plane with 7 knives, stun gun

The Associated Press Published Sunday, November 4th, 2001

CHICAGO (AP) - A 27-year-old man possessing seven knives and a stun gun was arrested trying to board a flight at O'Hare International Airport, police said Sunday.

Subash Gurung, a Nepal native, was arrested Saturday night prior to boarding a United Airlines flight to Omaha, Neb., said police spokesman Thomas Donegan.

He was charged with unlawful use of a weapon and attempting to board an aircraft with weapons, both misdemeanor charges.

Gurung, questioned by police and the FBI, was released from custody at 4:30 a.m. Sunday.

Donegan was unsure what authorities learned while questioning Gurung, saying they apparently "didn't have reason to keep him." He has no previous arrests in Chicago.

Gurung had made it past the security checkpoint at O'Hare but airline employees in the gate area searched his bag in a routine check and found the lock-blade knives and the Taser gun, Donegan said.

Gurung told police he's unemployed. Donegan was unsure why Gurung was headed to Omaha.

The FBI declined to comment Sunday.

United spokesman Joe Hopkins wouldn't say why Gurung was searched, but said it was part of the airline's regular security procedures.

"The United employees did a great job of intercepting this guy with the weapons and preventing him from boarding the flight," Hopkins said.

-- Anonymous, November 05, 2001

Answers

ChicSunTimes

O'Hare arrest tied to terror?

November 5, 2001

BY SUSAN DODGE STAFF REPORTER

A Nepalese man arrested at O'Hare Airport over the weekend with several knives, a stun gun and a can of Mace gave police the same home address that belonged to a suspect questioned in the Sept. 11 terrorist hijacking investigation.

But authorities were vague on whether there was any connection between Subash Gurung, who was arrested Saturday night at O'Hare, and Ayub Ali Khan, who is being held as a material witness to the attacks. Khan was one of two men with box cutters taken into federal custody Sept. 12 on a San Antonio-bound Amtrak train.

ABC-7 reported Sunday night that Gurung was being questioned for a second time by FBI officials.

He listed 1025 W. Hollywood, a Chicago apartment building, as his home address. Khan is believed to have lived at the same address for a time, authorities said. Khan, 34, is being held in a federal detention center in New York City.

Seven O'Hare Airport security workers--including a supervisor-- who allegedly let Gurung pass through their checkpoint were fired Sunday, Chicago Aviation Department spokeswoman Monique Bond said.

Gurung was within minutes of boarding a United flight to Omaha, Neb., Saturday night when the stunning security breach was detected by airline employees who searched his carry-on bag, where the weapons were located, officials said.

Security officials confiscated two knives at a security checkpoint, but Gurung made it to the boarding gate with seven other knives, a stun gun and Mace in his carry-on, said Bond.

Police Supt. Terry Hillard and Thomas J. Kneir, head of the local FBI office, spoke about Gurung's arrest but decided they could not charge him with a federal crime "because he didn't board an airplane," said Chicago police spokesman David Bayless.

Gurung was arrested Saturday and charged with three misdemeanors: unlawful use of a weapon, attempting to board an aircraft with a weapon and carrying a dangerous weapon, said Chicago Police Officer Matthew Jackson, a department spokesman.

Exactly how did the 27-year-old Edgewater resident make it through the terminal checkpoint, which supposedly is more secure since the terrorist attacks?

"That's the million-dollar question," Bond said Sunday.

Equally uncertain was why Gurung was allegedly carrying the items.

The Federal Aviation Administration, the city's aviation department and United Airlines all were investigating the security breach.

United gate employees checked Gurung's carry-on bag as a random bag search, part of the airline's enhanced security measures, said United spokesman Joe Hopkins.

Gurung was questioned by the FBI and then released on bond early Sunday, police said. The FBI declined to comment Sunday, referring all questions to police.

Gurung, 27, told police that he's unemployed and originally from Nepal. He is scheduled to appear in court Dec. 19.

The breach was the latest by Argenbright Security Inc., which operates the checkpoint for United and has been roundly criticized for lax security and hiring workers with criminal backgrounds.

It came as Congress debated how to tighten airport security. The security lapse bolsters the case for making airport security workers federal employees, who would be higher paid and better trained, Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin said, adding,"You can't do it on the cheap."

But House Republican leaders argue that federalizing the security would expand bureaucracy and make it tougher to fire bad workers. House and Senate officials are expected to come up with compromise legislation on airport security.

-- Anonymous, November 05, 2001


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