Anti-terror police evacuate Heathrow Terminal 2 and arrest 19-year-old after a grenade is discovered in his luggage
- Anti-terror cops evacuated Heathrow Terminal 2 after grenade was found
- Police arrested outbound 19-year-old male passenger and quizzed him
- Specialist officers later learned that the weapon had been decommissioned
Heathrow’s Terminal 2 was the scene of a mass evacuation today after a grenade was found in a passenger’s luggage.
Anti-terror police rushed hundreds of passengers and airport staff from the building and herded them into an adjacent car-park as fire engines arrived at the scene.
Video shot by MailOnline shows the scenes of panic as people fled.
The alert lasted some 30 minutes until it was discovered the weapon had been decommissioned – and was being sold for display purposes only.
A cordon was put in place and the immediate area was evacuated after an item was found in a passenger’s luggage at around 5.30pm. Specialist officers found the item posed no threat
Last night the outbound passenger, a 19-year-old man, was in custody being quizzed by police in west London, the Met said.
A Scotland Yard spokesperson said: ‘Police were called to Terminal 2 at Heathrow Airport shortly before 17:30hrs on Friday, 15 January following concern about an item found in a passenger’s luggage.
‘A cordon was put in place and the immediate area was evacuated. Specialist officers have now investigated the item and found it poses no threat.
‘A 19-year-old man has been arrested for carrying a prohibited article in an aerodrome. He will be taken to a west London police station.
A 19-year-old was arrested for carrying a prohibited article in an aerodrome, and he will be taken to a west London police station (stock photo)
‘Flights continued to take off and depart from the airport throughout the incident.’
A shop worker said: ‘The police were definitely treating it seriously. They won’t evacuate the terminal unless they think it’s a real threat.
‘We just got told to get out and we shut up shop as soon as could.’
A spokesperson for Heathrow told MailOnline: ‘Earlier this evening, our teams responded to a suspect item found in Terminal 2.
‘As a precaution, check in, security and immigration in the terminal were briefly suspended while the authorities conducted the appropriate checks.
‘The issue has now been resolved. We apologise to our passengers for any inconvenience caused.’