A Chicago woman made a false bomb threat at a Florida airport fearing that her son would miss school after she and her family missed their flight, according to authorities.
Authorities arrested Marina Verbitsky, 46, at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport after she falsely claimed that there was a bomb in her luggage, which had already been loaded into the plane, according to the report from the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.
The local bomb squad and Threat Management Unit detectives were notified of the threat and investigated the incident, which included evacuating all passengers and rerouting the plane on the runway, the report stated. It was determined that there were no explosives in the aircraft.
The flight remained on the runway for almost six hours, according to the New York Post.
Chicago Woman In Jail In Florida, Accused Of Making Bomb Threat Because She Was Late For Flight https://t.co/LM7P6R1LSC pic.twitter.com/02RmRBj96B
— CBS Chicago (@cbschicago) September 8, 2021
Purported relatives of Verbitsky told the Chicago Sun-Times that she made the threat out of fear that her son would miss school.
“It was a mistake,” an unidentified relative told the outlet. “She was nervous about the son needing to go to school. It was a mess, but it was definitely not meant to be.”
Verbitsky reportedly resorted to the threat after being notified by JetBlue employees that she and her family could not board the plane due to their late arrival at the gate, the Sun-Times reported.
Verbitsky was arrested and charged with one count of false reporting concerning planting a bomb, explosive or weapon of mass destruction, according to the police report.
A judge set Verbitsky’s bail at $10,000 and requested she undergo a mental health evaluation, the Post reported. She was released from custody after posting bail on Tuesday.
Her husband and son were not taken into custody, authorities told the Sun-Times.