A teenager stole five Civil War cannonballs from a historic Alabama fort and tried to fly home with them in a suitcase, but TSA caught the unusual haul

A routine baggage screening at an Alabama airport turned into an extraordinary security incident after Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers discovered five Civil War-era cannonballs hidden inside a checked suitcase. The rusted artillery relics, some as large as grapefruits and wrapped individually in paper towels, had allegedly been taken by a teenager from Fort Morgan, a historic military fort overlooking Mobile Bay. Unsure whether the cannonballs were live explosives, TSA officers immediately called bomb specialists and local law enforcement. The objects were later confirmed to be inert historical artefacts and were returned to the fort, bringing an unusual theft to an end before the passenger boarded the flight.Historic cannonballs discovered during routine TSA baggage screeningThe incident took place on 18 July 2026 at Gulf Shores International Airport in Alabama. Lead TSA Officer Justin Dupree noticed an unusual object while examining X-ray images of checked baggage. After opening the suitcase, officers found five rusted cannonballs wrapped in paper towels. Because it was impossible to determine immediately whether they contained explosives, the screening proc...