By Nathan Duke
A 32-year-old Manhattan man who caused thousands of travellers to be delayed for several hours last weekend after he brought a fake bomb to LaGuardia Airport will undergo psychiatric evaluation before he returns to court Thursday to determine whether he is fit to stand trial, the Queens district attorney said.
Scott McGann, who lives at 317 Ganesvort St. in Manhattan, was arrested after he took a fake explosive device to LaGuardia Airport early Saturday morning and acted as if he was going to detonate it, Queens DA Richard Brown said. McGann was charged with placing a false bomb in a mass transportation facility and making a terrorist threat, the DA said.
“The defendant is clearly a very troubled young man,” Brown said.
The incident caused LaGuardia to evacuate its central terminal and cancel all flights for several hours, causing thousands of passengers to miss their flights. As a result, flight delays were reported all across the country.
McGann arrived at a checkpoint at LaGuardia’s Terminal B to board a United Airlines flight to Chicago with a connecting flight to Oakland around 4:50 a.m. Saturday, the DA said. He was wearing a backpack and sweating profusely when a security officer attempted to ask for identification information, Brown said.
The defendant allegedly refused to answer any questions at the checkpoint, but the security officer noticed a suspicious package attached to the bottom of his back pack, the DA said. At that point, McGann allegedly reached for a what appeared to be a trigger device with a red button attached to a wire, which led to the package on his backpack, he said.
The defendant is accused of repeatedly pressing the red button until a Port Authority police officer grabbed his hand before removing the device and package, Brown said. Members of the NYPD’s bomb squad later determined the device was a simulated improvised explosive device consisting of batteries, cylinders and electronic components that could have been used in the construction of an actual explosive device.
But the device itself did not contain any actual explosives, the DA said.
McGann was expected to return to court Thursday. On Saturday evening, Queens Criminal Court Judge Lenora Gerald ordered him to undergo a psychiatric examination to determine whether he had the capacity to understand the proceedings against him.
The New York Post reported that McGann’s mother said her son had recently been suicidal and that he had been en route to California to possibly get mental health treatment.
McGann is also currently awaiting a date in Manhattan Criminal Court following a June 4 incident in that court, during which he allegedly snatched court summonses from an attorney and attempted to leave the building, according to the criminal complaint. He had been in court for a Manhattan misdemeanor case.
Long lines of delayed passengers stood in LaGuardia’s main terminal throughout Saturday afternoon in lines that moved slowly, if at all.
“This is the first time something like this has happened to me,” said Joe Conte, of Montreal, who was supposed to have made a connection at LaGuardia from Fort Lauderdale to return home to Canada. “The line is not moving at all.”
At 1 p.m.. Conte, who was traveling with six family members, said he had been standing in line since 10 a.m. and was told he probably would not board another flight until the following morning.
Mustak Vaid, who lives in Detroit but was visiting his family in Fresh Meadows, said he arrived at the airport at 6:45 a.m., but had to wait outside with a large crowd of passengers after the terminal was evacuated.
“When they let everybody back in, it was a mad rush,” said Vaid, who was rebooked on a flight to Newark, where he would make a connection to Toronto. “A lot of flights were cancelled.”
Damon Jordan, of Detroit, said his Friday night flight had been canceled and then his Saturday morning flight was delayed following the bomb scare. A ticketing agent told him the earliest flight he would be able to catch would be at 10 p.m. Sunday.
“They told me there were no other flights from JFK [International Airport] or LaGuardia between now and then,” said Jordan, who had been in the city on a business trip. “I said, ‘You liar, I’m not that stupid.’ This leaves a bad taste in my mouth.”
Reach reporter Nathan Duke by e-mail at nduke@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
