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Mother: Son missed flight, caused airport lockdown

By WTOP Staff

ROMULUS, Mich. (AP) — The mother of an Arkansas man who caused a two-hour lockdown at Detroit Metropolitan Airport says he mistakenly re-entered a secure area after missing a flight this week to a basketball tryout.

Jennifer Smith of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, told The Associated Press on Saturday that 22-year-old Christian Smith’s actions “were a complete misunderstanding.”

Christian Smith was arrested Thursday night after exiting and going back into a secured side of a screening checkpoint at the airport in Romulus. The lockdown delayed flights at the McNamara Terminal.

Jennifer Smith says her 6-foot-7-inch son was cited and posted a $100 bond. She says he now is in Los Angeles where he hopes to latch on with a professional basketball team overseas.

Christian Smith played college basketball at Bacone College in Muskogee, Oklahoma.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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