Toy grenade causes bomb scare at Houston airport, led to temporary shutdown

Houston: A toy grenade caused a bomb scare at an international airport in Houston, leading to temporary shutdown and partial evacuation of the area.

A boy scout who packed the toy grenade in his carry-on bag caused the shutdown of a security checkpoint at Houston's William P Hobby Airport.

Houston Airport System spokesman Bill Begley said people were allowed to approach the checkpoint again after authorities determined that the suspicious item spotted by a Transportation Security Administration agent was a "novelty grenade".

It's not clear why the 17-year-old had the item in his bag. Houston police said the state won't charge the teen but that he could face a federal fine.

Hobby Airport is a hub for Southwest Airlines and Begley said more than 15 Southwest flights were delayed. The website FlightAware indicated delays of an hour or more for flights arriving and departing the airport immediately after the security checkpoint reopened.

The incident created a backlog of at least a thousand people waiting to go through security.

The incident took place only a day after another bomb scare at Houston's George Bush International airport where the man claimed to have explosives in his bag. The man was an "impatient passenger at a ticket counter," the airport tweeted. No delays or changes to flights will occur because of the man's comments, airport officials said.

Houston police sent bomb squads to the airport to investigate the man, who made the claim around 8:45 a.m on June 6, police said.