PHILADELPHIA - TSA officers say they found two knives sewn into a child's stuffed animal.
The incident took place Monday at the Philadelphia International Airport's security checkpoint.
According to officials, the stuffed animal, which appeared to be a black bear in a space-age technology suit and cape, triggered an alarm as it entered the checkpoint X-ray machine.
An X-ray image showed that something was concealed inside the bear and, upon closer inspection, TSA officers noticed that the back of the bear showed signs of having been re-stitched.
After removing the stitches from the bear, the TSA officers pulled out two knives that had been "artfully concealed" inside the toy.
"This is a good example of why we cannot assume that something as innocent-looking as a child’s stuffed animal is not a risk to security," said Gerardo Spero, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport. "Someone intentionally attempted to conceal two knives inside this 9-year-old boy’s toy for whatever reason. It was a good catch on the part of our TSA officers."
The youngster was traveling with his mother, a resident of Cortland, NY, who told officials that the bear was a comfort toy for her son.
She is likely to face a Federal civil penalty for the security violation.
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