RDU International Confiscates Toy Guns At Security Checkpoint

Randy Diers of Durham had given early Christmas presents to his nephews, Braden and Jacob Heckman. They received G.I. Joe action figures and their weapons, which easily fit in the palm of a hand.

When the boys tried to get their toys through RDU security on the flight back to their home in Texas, they ran into a little trouble.

"They could not take the toy guns on the plane because they were weapons," Diers said. "So, they went ahead and took all the guns and the toy knives everything except the toy hand grenades."

"I didn't know if I should laugh or be angry," Diers said.

"My sister and brother-in-law couldn't believe what was going on, and of course, the boys were just devastated," Diers said. "They were upset and were crying. They couldn't believe someone was trying to take their toys away from them."

"Because the airlines are the ones overseeing the security checkpoints, the airport authority can't comment on the specifics of what they're looking for at the security checkpoints," said Kim Persson, a spokeswoman from RDU International.

A US Airways corporate spokesman told WRAL they also do not comment on security issues except to say they take all security matters seriously.

If there were errors made, workers certainly erred on the side of caution.

"It was one of those things where security should be an issue, but I think it was taken a little too far this time," Diers said.

Diers says his sister and brother-in-law were given two options: to leave the toy guns at the terminal to pick up later, or have them thrown away.

The boys got to keep their G.I. Joe action figures, but the guns were thrown in the trash.