Contents Of Suspicious Package Revealed At Will Rogers Airport

Staff and Wire Reports

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The contents of a suspicious package found at Will Rogers Airport early Friday morning have been revealed.

According to the Oklahoma City Police Department, the suspicious unclaimed box was making noises and playing Christmas music. Officials say the box contained a bull horn, batteries, wiring and a cell phone.

The box was traced to a passenger that was on a different flight, but also departed from Houston. The passenger's name was similar to a name on the TSA's Selectee List. The passenger was interviewed by FBI, TSA and the Oklahoma City Police Department. The passenger claimed he could not account for all of the items in the box because other people helped him pack it.

The passenger's name is not being released because no arrests have been made.

The suspicious package found in the baggage claim area at Will Rogers Airport was ruled "harmless," according to MSgt. Gary Knight with the Oklahoma City Police Department.  Airport spokeswoman Karen Carney says officials gave the "all-clear" signal just before 2 p.m. Friday. Flights are resuming and passengers are being allowed to leave the terminal.

Carney said the bomb squad used water cannons to neutralize the suspicious box found Friday morning.

Emergency crews partially evacuated the airport after an airline employee spotted the box and reported it to airport police.  When they could not determine what was inside the box, they called the bomb squad.

The baggage claim and ticket lobby levels were evacuated around 9:15 a.m. and a perimeter was set up around the terminal.  Passengers and employees were cleared from the area while the bomb squad examined the box.

"We moved people on the concourse to the farthest ends, beyond the 300-foot perimeter," Carney said. "We stopped inbound planes for a short time, but planes are now landing."

Nearly 2,500 passengers were impacted by the emergency.  Eight inbound and eight outbound flights were canceled and 16 others were delayed. 

TSA and airline employees worked quickly once the airport reopened to try and get passengers on their way.