A 26-year-old man was stopped by TSA workers at Boston Logan Airport while attempting to bring a metal drinking straw with a sharpened tip in his carry-on luggage. Known as "vampire straws," these items are marketed as dual-purpose drinking straws that can also function as stabbing weapons. The man was arrested and charged with a state crime.
Dan Velez, a spokesperson for TSA New England, wrote, "This is a Vampire straw. These items are not allowed in passenger carry-on bags. A passenger found that out yesterday @BostonLogan when @MassStatePolice confiscated the item and eventually arrested the 26-year-old man on a state charge."
One website that sells the straws describes them as follows: "Designed for self-defense, the Vampire straw is super tough and long enough to be used like a dagger; its chiseled tip is sharp enough to puncture most synthetic materials. The Vampire straw is also a very effective tire deflator, and can be carried in a cup, in public without attracting attention. From a cup, the Vampire straw is very easy to deploy in reverse grip, and put into action almost instantly,"
Although these straws sound dangerous, it raises the question: why was this individual arrested, while Madison Cawthorne, who was caught going through airport security with a handgun, was not?
