Just stalker-like.
A creepy guy followed a mother and daughter from Georgia into a Washington, D.C., airport bathroom and then boarded a Delta flight without a valid boarding pass. Crew members then kicked him off the plane, delaying departure, authorities said.
Lauren Benton told USA Today that her family — including her two children, ages 6 and 9 — were followed by a distraught man near their gate at Washington Dulles International Airport as they prepared for their flight home on August 2.
“My heart sank,” Benton said. “With our children, we tried to make them feel safe at all times.”
She said she became even more frightened when the man followed her and her young daughter into the ladies’ room.
The man, whose identity is not mentioned in the report, followed them onto the plane during early boarding and then sat in the row next to them, she said.
Her children became nervous, so she reported the situation to a flight attendant, who learned that the man had a boarding pass for another Delta flight that same day, the outlet reported.
The villain was escorted off the plane and the aircraft was evacuated to conduct a security check that lasted nearly two hours, Benton said.
The frightened mother was stunned by the astonishing security breach.
“We live in this post-9/11 era and people think this isn’t possible, but it is,” she said. “Only people who belonged on the plane should have been allowed on the plane. I would like to know how that happened.”
The man appeared to have mental health issues and had passed through airport security with a valid ID, according to the TSA and other authorities. He has not been charged with any crime.
“I understand the mental health crisis in the United States, but I will not allow mental health to be used as an excuse for (endangering) the safety of my family,” Benton said.
Delta said it is investigating the incident to determine how the man was able to board the plane without a valid boarding pass for that particular flight.
“Delta has procedures in place that allow gate agents and flight crew to verify prior to departure that the people on board the aircraft are customers booked on that particular flight,” the airline said in a statement.
“Delta is investigating the matter internally and is in contact with airport authorities in connection with this review.”
