- April 24, 2024
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A 25-year-old man's bomb threat caused over 200 people's flights to be delayed at Daytona Beach International Airport after he was found naked in a baggage carousel attempting to hitch a ride to the tarmac.
In a press conference, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said the sheriff's office received a call around 6 a.m. Friday, May 11, that John Greenwood, a "frequent flyer" with law enforcement officers, was running around naked in the airport's terminal. Deputies implemented a taser during their confrontation with Greenwood, and after being taken into custody, Chitwood said Greenwood shouted that they needed to get out of the airport because a bomb was going to go off, which he claimed to plant in a bathroom.
Airport staff evacuated a maximum of 225 people, mainly passengers from an American Airlines and a Delta flight, outside as deputies began searching the bathrooms of the airport. They discovered sheetrock from a female restroom currently under construction had been cut out and placed back over an unknown object.
It was Greenwood's backpack full of his clothes
“This is one of those things where truth is stranger than fiction, to say the least,” Chitwood said.
After being transferred to Halifax Health, Greenwood told deputies he had ingested drugs, including ecstasy. All passengers were able to board their flights and accommodated with new connections.
“Between the Volusia County sheriff’s department and the airport staff, the teamwork was tremendous this morning and hopefully we met all the passenger’s needs, which I think we did," said Jay Cassens, Daytona Beach International Airport's public information officer.
Greenwood faces charges of burglary, false report concerning planting a bomb, criminal mischief, resisting arrest without violence, exposure of sexual organs and unlawful possession of personal identification of another person. The first three charges are felonies.
Greenwood was last arrested in 2017 for aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer. He was also placed under the Baker Act twice that year.
Updated at 2:24 p.m. to include John Greenwood's pending charges.
