Lambert closes shop where man hid before breaching security

ST. LOUIS -- Officials have closed the shop where an unidentified man hid before bypassing security Thursday at the busiest concourse at Lambert Airport, resulting in the evacuation of thousands of passengers and the delay of up to 70 flights.

The Juice Works food concession was closed following the incident, briefly reopened for a few hours Saturday morning before being closed again Saturday afternoon.

"The initial issue was how to enhance security at that checkpoint," said airport spokesman Mike Donatt. "Closing that concession was considered one of the ways to do that."

The unidentified man passed through the exit lane of Concourse C at Lambert Thursday evening and was stopped by security guards when he immediately turned around to re-enter.

Airport police said a security video then showed the man visiting the Juice Works shop, which is located just a few feet away from the concourse exit, and peeking out from behind the shop's walls to get a view of the exit.

When a large enough crowd left the concourse, police said, the man used them to block the screeners' view while he re-entered the concourse. It was an employee of the Juice Works shop who alerted security screeners.

On Friday, Airport Police Chief Paul Mason said a full-time National Guard soldier, one of the troops deployed by Gov. Bob Holden after the Sept. 11 attacks, has been posted to watch the exit lane. The airport also revoked the security badge of the employee who was supposed to be watching the exit lane.

A spokeswoman for Fort Worth, Texas-based American Airlines, the main tenant of Concourse C, said the carrier plans to install a motion detection system at the exit. The system will set off an alarm whenever someone walks the wrong way through the exit.

Mason said the airport is continuing to work with the FBI to search for the man, who disappeared into the crown after bypassing security. But he said the chances of finding him are slim.