As American Airlines Flight 2051 taxied onto the tarmac, passengers received a disturbing message over AirDrop. The message said that the sender had a bomb and wanted to share a photo of it with the passengers. The message caused the plane to return to the gate, where airport authorities determined that the bomb threat was false.
It took quite some time for airport officials and the Texas Department of Public Safety to conduct their investigation. While they worked, the passengers waited nervously on the plane, which was bound for Chicago. They were unsure whether or not the threat was serious and, if it was, if the person would get desperate enough to set the bomb off at the gate. However, the bomb squad there found no evidence of an explosive. The authorities then got to work on figuring out where the threat came from.
A child faces charges for a false bomb threat.
Investigators tracked down a child who admitted to sending the message. Authorities also found evidence on their phone that they sent the message. The phone is now in the custody of the authorities as they work on their investigation.
The child who sent the message now faces serious charges from the state of Texas. A charge of making a false alarm is a state jail felony in Texas. This means that the punishment for this crime could be between 180 days and two years in jail.
Even though the person who made the threat is a child, they will still face these charges. Texas doesn’t care whether you’re a child or not if you make such a serious threat. It only matters that you understand how serious these kinds of threats are. Making a false threat ties up emergency response resources that could be used to keep other Texans safe. Hopefully, this juvenile will understand soon how serious their actions were.
