Posted on 09/21/2007 11:03:43 AM PDT by Rutles4Ever
(WBZ) BOSTON An MIT student with a fake bomb strapped to her chest was arrested at gunpoint Friday at Logan International Airport and later claimed it was artwork, officials said.
Star Simpson, 19, had a computer circuit board and wiring in plain view over a black hooded sweat shirt she was wearing, said State Police Maj. Scott Pare, the commanding officer at the airport.
"She said that it was a piece of art and she wanted to stand out on career day," Pare said at a news conference. "She claims that it was just art, and that she was proud of the art and she wanted to display it."
The battery-powered rectangular device had nine flashing lights, he said. Simpson also had Play-Doh in her hands, he said.
The phrases "Socket to me" and "Course VI" were written on the back of sweat shirt, which authorities displayed to the media. Course VI appears to be a reference to MIT's major of electrical engineering and computer science.
Simpson was charged with disturbing the peace and possessing a hoax device.
She pleaded not guilty to a charge of possessing a hoax device at her arraignment in East Boston District Court Friday afternoon. She was released on $750 bail and ordered to stay away from Logan Airport.
Simpson could face up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
"I'm shocked and appalled that somebody would wear this type of device to an airport," Pare said.
Simpson was "extremely lucky she followed the instructions or deadly force would have been used," Pare said. "She's lucky to be in a cell as opposed to the morgue."
Simpson is a Massachusetts Institute of Technology sophomore from Hawaii, officials said.
Simpson was a member of MIT's swimming and diving team in 2006, according to the team's Web site, which lists her hometown as Kihei, Hawaii, and her high school as Hawaii Preparatory. MIT spokeswoman Patti Richards confirmed that Simpson is an MIT student, but said the school could not immediately confirm any other details and did not have further comment.
She was arrested about 8 a.m. outside Terminal C, home to United Airlines, Jet Blue and other carriers.
A Massachusetts Port Authority staffer manning an information booth in the terminal became suspicious when Simpson -- wearing the device -- approached to ask about an incoming flight, Pare said. Simpson then walked outside, and the information booth attendant notified a nearby trooper.
The trooper, joined by others with submachine guns, confronted her at a traffic island in front of the terminal.
"She was immediately told to stop, to raise her hands and not to make any movement, so we could observe all her movements to see if she was trying to trip any type of device," Pare said. "Had she not followed the protocol, we might have used deadly force."
Pare said Simpson took a subway to the airport, but he was not sure if she had the device on at that time.
She told authorities she was at the airport to greet someone arriving on a flight from Oakland. Authorities verified information as to the name of the passenger she was greeting, and said he had already left the airport.
"She did seem a bit upset that she was in custody. However, she was rational, and she did answer all questions as required," Pare said.
The major praised the booth attendant but said the incident is a reminder of the terrorism threat confronting the civil aviation system. Two of the four passenger jets hijacked on Sept. 11, 2001, took off from Logan.
"In this day and age, the threat continues to be there," said Pare. "She certainly jeopardized her own safety by bringing this to the airport, as well as the safety of everybody around her."
The city was the focus of a major security scare Jan. 31 when dozens of battery-powered devices were discovered in various locations. Bomb squads were deployed, and highways, bridges and some transit stations were temporarily closed. They turned out to be a promotion for cable TV's Cartoon Network.
Stay with wbztv.com and WBZ-TV for the latest on this developing story.
Maybe for her next “art” project she could tape herself screaming “fire” and then play it a crowded theater.
As a parent you would divorce from a child and approve of her life being ruined because somebody has bad perception.
I honestly do not know what to say.
it was ill thought out but i do believe it was intended to be some weird pseudo-intellectual geek statement and nothing else.
i would be more scared by muslim people in an airport than some geek from MIT with a circuit board taped onto their wolf-howling-at-the-moon t shirt lmao
My dog is afraid of the vacuum, but that does NOT make it a terrorist bomb!!
This sure sounds like those flashing 'ads' that were found in some city a few months ago...
Yup!
ALWAYS CUT THE RED WIRE!!!!
tic... tic... tic...
I thought that was Hair Gel!!
A good art project would be to take a starter pistol into a classroom and shoot at the students.
I got it.
I wonder how many others reading it did?
We kill more than that DAILY through CHOICE!
What kinds of Terrorist Tools does the fetus see just before having it's body dismantled?
“...I know how prestigeous a degree from MIT is...”
I too am an engineer (I went to the cow college in Ames, Iowa, prestigeous in its own right, btw) and you and I know how prestigeous a degree from MIT used to be...
That would be criminal behavior, of course. What she did here was not.
Her mom must be proud that she’d dating a 42 year old guy she once Interned for.
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