Mobile UPI  |   About UPI  |   UPI en Español  |   UPI Arabic  |   UPIU  |   My Account
Search:
Go

Blair guard fires gun at Israel airport

|
|
 
  
Published: Nov. 11, 2008 at 5:11 PM

TEL AVIV, Israel, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- One of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's bodyguards triggered a security scare at an Israeli airport when he accidentally fired his handgun.

Israeli police hurried Blair to his plane after the gun went off, The Daily Telegraph reported. He did not hear the shot.

Blair is now the chief envoy for the Quartet, the combination of the United States, European Union, United Nations and Russia, that is trying to negotiate a peace settlement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The gunfire occurred as Blair was leaving Tel Aviv after spending several days in Egypt and Israel.

The Israeli Airports Authority is investigating the incident. The BBC reported that the gun discharged accidentally as the bodyguard unloaded it.

There have been other security scares, including one earlier this year when Israeli fighter jets were scrambled after Blair's jet failed to give complete identification. In June, an Israeli security officer shot himself at the airport while French President Nicolas Sarkozy was departing.

In September, a Blair bodyguard left a weapon in the men's room at a London Starbucks.

Recommended Stories
© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
  
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
Notable deaths of 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee AmfAR Cinema Against AIDS gala
Indianapolis 500 Presidential Medal of Freedom Memorial Day around the nation
Additional Top News Stories
1 of 20
Singer Janelle Monae arrives at the 2012 MTV Movie Awards in Universal City, California
View Caption
Singer Janelle Monae arrives for the MTV Movie Awards at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, California. UPI/Jim Ruymen
fark
Famous last words: "The notion that it's too late to do anything is comical. It's hilarious. We're...
Five secrets to getting the best healthcare. #6: Don't get sick
Traveling to the U.S.? If invited to a dinner party, bring a gift of wine, but not cash or toiletries...
Man turns dead pet cat into remote-controlled helicopter, calls it art (w/WTF pics)
"Good News" clubs teach children in public schools the Biblical importance of killing all nonbelievers...
Five arrested in prostitution sting. Article lists their names, ages and distance from a church