Separate bomb scares disrupt Honolulu airport and Pearl Harbor-Hickam
Authorities are investigating two bomb scare incidents Monday involving suspicious packages, including one at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport that led to the closing of part of several baggage claim areas and a couple of gates. The other incident was at the Borchers Gate at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.
A male suspect was taken into custody at about 6 p.m. in connection with the Pearl Harbor case and turned over to Honolulu police, officials said.
It’s unknown whether the two incidents are related.
A Honolulu Police Department spokesperson said a 32-year-old male was taken into police custody Monday night in the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam case. He was taken to a medical facility for evaluation, and had not been arrested as of Tuesday morning, police said.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has taken the lead on the airport incident, officials said.
In that incident, a suspicious bag shut down baggage claim areas 22-27 on the first floor of Terminal 2, as well as gates F-1 and F-2 on the second floor. They are on the Diamond Head end of Terminal 2, which formerly was the Overseas Terminal. That section of the airport was evacuated.
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At 8 p.m. state Department of Transportation officials said all areas of the airport were reopened.
In the second incident, security personnel with Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam received a report of suspicious packages at the Borchers Gate at about 5 p.m.
The base closed the gate to traffic at 5:20 p.m. and coordinated with the HPD to shut down traffic on Kamehameha Highway between Radford Drive and Kalaloa Street. Kamehameha lanes were reopened before 9:45 p.m.
Three separate packages were examined by bomb technicians and all were declared safe shortly after 9:30 p.m.