Odd alarm clock triggers security scare

HOUSTON, July 11 (UPI) -- A Jordanian-born U.S. immigrant's unusual laptop-and-timer alarm clock in a travel bag has led to a security review at the Houston airport.

Mohamed Anwar Bataineh, 32, was attempting to board a Delta flight for Atlanta when Transportation Safety Administration screeners spotted the suspicious computer wired to an alarm clock, as well as a pair of shoes that appeared to have been hollowed out.

They sounded a silent alarm and Houston police officer J.O. Reece responded to the call, ABC News reported. Reece, allowed Bataineh and his unusual alarm clock to continue on.

The FBI in Atlanta was waiting for Bataineh and questioned him before determining he posed no threat and that the shoes weren't hollowed out, just worn out.

However, the questioning made him late for starting a new job and he was fired, the report said.

Back in Houston, Reece has been placed on administrative duty by the police department amid TSA complaints he scarcely checked Bataineh before allowing him to board.