A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officer faces the threat of up to five years in jail and a fine of up to $250,000 after she allegedly left two handwritten bomb threats at Tulsa International Airport.
It can now be revealed that Sharon Jean Devine, 48, has been charged with two counts of False Information and Hoaxes after an Oklahoma court unsealed an indictment against the former TSA agent on Tuesday.
Devine’s motives remain unclear, but prosecutors allege that on two separate occasions in March, she left notes in a public restroom which read: “There is a bomb in the airport” and “bomb in airport”.
On both occasions, airport police immediately responded to a possible terrorist incident, sealing off a perimeter around the restroom before eventually concluding that there was no threat to public safety.
Despite standing down their response, the police launched an investigation alongside the FBI and Devine was eventually tracked down as the accused perpetrator.
“Every time a threat is made, a sophisticated law enforcement response is set into motion to ensure public safety,” commented Acting Special Agent in Charge Jason Kaplan of the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office.
Kaplan continued: “Bomb hoaxes like the ones alleged to have been fabricated by the defendant put the community at risk and will not be tolerated.”
The news comes just a couple of days after the TSA reported that it had screened more than three million people in a single day at airport security checkpoints for the first time in its 22-year history on Sunday, 7th July.
Despite the record-breaking passenger numbers over the July 4 weekend, the TSA appeared to withstand the pressure with no major reports of disruption at any of the airports it is responsible for providing security services to.
