A Bronx man armed with a loaded 9 millimeter pistol – and carrying fake identification documents – was arrested after he tried to push past TSA officers at a JFK Airport checkpoint Friday, officials said.
Port Authority Police identified the man as Rajindra Persaud, 21. He was charged with criminal trespass and possession of a weapon, officials said.
At Persaud’s arraignment Friday, a Queens judge ordered him held without bail pending a psychiatric examination, court records show. His attorney could not immediately be reached for comment.
Persaud allegedly approached the checkpoint at Terminal 4 shortly after midnight claiming to be a new airport employee. When a TSA officer staffing the ticket-checking station asked him for his employee badge, Persaud refused to show it, officials said.
Instead, he ran past the checker and put his backpack on the X-ray belt. As TSA officers asked him to leave the area, he grabbed the pack and tried to “push through the TSA security scanning device into the secure area of the airport terminal,” TSA said in a press release.
Officers stopped him before he got any further, officials said.
Investigators couldn’t corroborate Persaud’s claim that he worked in the airport, and soon discovered he was carrying false identification documents, along with the pistol loaded with three bullets.
His motive was not immediately clear. Persaud is due back in court March 19.
Terminal 4 is among the airport’s busiest, featuring dozens of stores, bars, and restaurants.