32-year-old Jamaican Kevin Brown was arrested at the Orlando, Florida International Airport on April 1, 2008 while attempting to carry bomb-making materials on to a plane. Brown, a legal resident of the U.S., was spotted by the TSA's "behavior detection officers" acting suspiciously, which prompted a search of his luggage, where components for pipe bombs, Vodka bottles filled with nitro-methane, BB pellets, a rocket igniter, batteries, lighter fluid and bomb-making instruction manuals were found.
Brown confessed to TSA officials that he planned to build a pipe bomb once he arrived in Montego Bay, Jamaica, but gave conflicting stories as to why. (He at first claimed he needed to blow up a tree stump, then said he intended to put on a show for friends).
The arrest has been described as the most significant in Orlando International Airport's history.
Fast Facts:
- 32 years old
- Jamaican National living in Orlando
- Will be represented by a court-appointed lawyer
- May be a veteran; said he wanted to show friends explosions "like [he] saw in Iraq"
Kevin Brown News and Blogs
- Topix.net: Kevin Brown
- Google News: Kevin Brown
- OrlandoSentinel.com: Suspect held without bail in Orlando International Airport bomb case (April 2, 2008)
- Brown is being held currently without bail. The U.S. Magistrate overseeing the case, Karla Spaulding, has complained that the TSA and FBI did not fully share information with her in a timely fashion, and that Orlando's Representative John Mica was told about the case before she was. (She claims to have learned many details from reading the Orlando Sentinel).
- USAToday.com: Feds: Man arrested at Fla. airport had bomb-making materials (April 2, 2008)
- OrlandoSentinel.com: Suspect identified in Orlando International Airport bomb parts case (April 2, 2008)
- Local6.com (Orlando, FL): Passenger At Orlando Airport Had Bomb Materials, Literature In Bag (April 1, 2008)
- A passenger described Brown's erratic behavior: "He looked rather crazy. He was rocking left and right and up and down. He looked a little wacko."
- TheLedger.com: Prime Minister Orders Investigation Of Jamaican Detained At Orlando (April 2, 2008)
- Though FBI officials have confirmed that Brown's luggage contained all the necessary ingredients to make a bomb, Air Jamaica's executive director says the passengers were never at risk and the checked bag could not have detonated during flight.
- The Jamaica Observer: Bomb scare in Orlando (April 2, 2008)
- Gadling: Man charged with bomb parts in luggage (April 2, 2008)
- Google Blog Search: Kevin Brown
