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Artillery Shell 'Souvenir' Causes Scare at Newark

The shell was packed in luggage checked on a US Airways flight

Wednesday, Jul 15, 2009 | Updated 2:46 PM EDT

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Artillery Shell 'Souvenir' Causes Scare at Newark

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The incident happened at the US Airways terminal, forcing some delays and evacuations.

A man traveling through Newark Airport tried to check a bag with a 6-inch shell packed inside -- causing a security scare that lasted over an hour today.

It turned out the man was an army reservist returning from a training mission and he was trying to keep the howitzer gun shell as a souvenir, sources said.

Apparently, the shell was the first shot the reservist ever fired, law enforcement sources said.
The scare happened after 1 p.m. at the US Airways terminal.

Officials said operations returned to normal around 2 p.m.