DANGEROUS SKIES

WICHITA, Kan. (AP/The Blaze) — The grandmother of a 4-year-old girl who became hysterical during a security screening at a Kansas airport says security agents forced her to undergo a pat-down, and even yelled at the child and called her an uncooperative suspect. The child’s grandmother, Lori Croft, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that mother and daughter initially passed through security at Wichita’s airport without incident. But then the child ran to briefly hug Croft, who was awaiting a pat-down after tripping the alarm.That’s when TSA agents insisted the child undergo a physical pat-down. According to Brademeyer, a TSO “began yelling” at Izzy and ordered her to wait for a pat-down. She was prevented from approaching her mother, and told to “come to them, alone, and spread her arms and legs.” Frightened, Izzy screamed “I don’t want to” and bolted. She was returned to the security area, but not before a TSO threatened to shut down the airport and cancel all flights if Izzy was not restrained.[...] While the pat-down was being administered, Izzy, who “did not want to stand still and let strangers touch her,” was ordered by a TSO to stop crying.Isabella had just learned about “stranger danger” at school, her grandmother said, adding that the girl was afraid and unsure about what was going on. “She started to cry, saying ‘No I don’t want to,’ and when we tried talking to her she ran,” Croft said. “They yelled, ‘We are going to shut down the airport if you don’t grab her.’” But she said the family’s main concern was the lack of understanding from TSA agents that they were dealing with a 4-year-old child, not a terror suspect.