HILO, Hawaii — Operations at Hilo International Airport were briefly halted early Tuesday morning when personnel from the Hawaii Police Department responded to a report from Transportation Security Administration staff of two items resembling grenades being detected in an X-ray screening.

The items belonged to 41-year-old Akito Fukushima, a Japanese national who was leaving Hawaii Island.

Officers responded to the 5:44 a.m. call by securing and evacuating the terminal area as a safety measure while the department’s bomb squad arrived and determined that the items were grenades that did not have explosives in them.

At 6:45 a.m., police arrested Fukushima of Kanazawa, Japan, for first-degree terroristic threatening.

Akito Fukushima, 41, of Kanazawa, Japan, was arrested Tuesday morning. (Photo courtesy of Hawaii Police Department)

Fukushima was taken to HPD’s East Hawaii Detention Facility and remains in custody as detectives from the Area I Criminal Investigation Section continue their investigation.

Hilo International Airport resumed operations at 6:50 a.m.

Police remind the public that replicas of explosives such as hand grenades are prohibited in checked and carry-on baggage. TSA officers can also prohibit any item going through the screening checkpoint at their discretion if they believe it poses a security threat.