A Transportation Security Administration officer thought that a bag going through a scanner held a medicine ball.
Boy, was he wrong.
Lead TSA Officer Justin Dupree found five small artillery munitions, initially described as cannonballs, in the bag at Alabama’s Gulf Shores International Airport, according to a news release.
They were wrapped inside paper towels inside the checked bag. The larger munitions were about the size of grapefruits and weighed about the same as a small shot put.
“My first thought was, ‘I couldn’t see a fuse and needed to get some help quick,’” he said. “I couldn’t see the entire item but was scared I might have been holding a live explosive.”
Dupree stopped Supervisory TSA Officer Richard Cash as the supervisor entered the screening room.
“I observed the X-ray image and the bag and concurred we had a potentially dangerous item,” Cash said. “I then instructed Justin to maintain control of the bag until I made the proper notifications.”
Cash contacted the agency’s regional explosives specialist and the assistant federal security director for law enforcement, who advised contacting local law enforcement. Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office responded.
It was determined that the artifacts contained no explosive materials, but they were still prohibited.
“I had never seen anything like this,” Cash said. “It was my first time dealing with a potentially live explosive, and it’s actually only the second incident we’ve had since JKA opened in May 2025.”
The munitions were stolen from Fort Morgan, the TSA said.
The sheriff’s office said a teen took them from a storage area at the fort. The grandmother’s checked bag contained them, USA Today reported.
The munitions were returned to the fort and Fort Morgan’s director declined to press charges, the sheriff’s office said, according to ABC News.