2026年7月30日 / 美国东部时间晚上7:27 / 哥伦比亚广播公司/美联社
执法官员表示，本月早些时候，一名美国运输安全管理局（TSA）特工在阿拉巴马州一座机场的例行安全检查中，在一名乘客的行李箱里发现了一批被盗的内战时期炮弹。
美国运输安全管理局在一份声明中表示，这些文物于7月18日在格尔夫肖尔国际机场被发现。当时特工在X光扫描中看到行李箱内有一个大型不透明物品，最初以为可能是健身药球。当他打开行李后，发现了五个用纸巾包裹的小型炮弹，随即通知了主管。
“我的第一反应是，‘我看不到引信，得赶紧找人帮忙’，”美国运输安全管理局首席特工贾斯汀·杜普里周五在该机构的一份声明中说道。“我看不到整件物品的全貌，但很担心自己可能拿着一枚活体爆炸物。”
这张由美国运输安全管理局提供的照片显示，2026年7月18日，在阿拉巴马州格尔夫肖尔的格尔夫肖尔国际机场，美国运输安全管理局特工在一件托运行李中发现了被盗的内战时期炮弹。美国运输安全管理局/美联社供图
“我从未见过如此特别的东西，”杜普里说道。“我见过惰性手榴弹和训练用弹药，但从未遇到过类似《夺宝奇兵》风格的被盗文物案件。”
美国运输安全管理局表示，这些炮弹最大的直径约等于柚子大小，重量相当于铅球，均已失效，未含有任何爆炸物或活性部件。尽管如此，炮弹属于弹药，是被禁止带上飞机的物品。
“我从未见过这样的情况，”美国运输安全管理局监管特工理查德·卡什在声明中说道。“这是我第一次处理疑似活体爆炸物的案件，而且这实际上是格尔夫肖尔国际机场自2025年5月启用以来发生的第二起此类事件。”
警方最终根据炮弹上的标识确认，这些炮弹是从摩根堡被盗的，年代可追溯至美国内战时期。这座历史悠久的格尔夫肖尔堡垒在内战等多场军事冲突中发挥了重要作用。
鲍德温县警长办公室周四表示，一名未成年人从堡垒的储藏区偷走了这些炮弹，随后将它们放进了祖母的托运行李箱中。祖母告诉警方，她并不知晓这些物品是被盗的。
摩根堡的发言人未回复寻求置评的电子邮件。警长办公室表示，该机构拒绝提起诉讼，这些文物已被归还堡垒。
今年夏季，美国运输安全管理局每天的安检旅客量超过200万人次，在旅客行李中查获了不少非常规物品。仅今年夏季，美国运输安全管理局就查获了两枚活体烟雾弹、一枚惰性手榴弹、一枚自制炸弹仿制品，以及藏在吉他琴盒里的一把武士刀。
Stolen Civil War-era cannonballs found in suitcase at Alabama airport
July 30, 2026 / 7:27 PM EDT / CBS/AP
A TSA agent discovered a set of stolen Civil War-era cannonballs in a passenger’s suitcase during a routine security screening at an Alabama airport earlier this month, law enforcement officials said.
The Transportation Security Administration said in a statement that the relics were discovered at Gulf Shores International Airport on July 18 after the agent observed what appeared to be a large, opaque item inside a suitcase during an X-ray screening, which he initially thought might be a medicine ball. When he opened the luggage, he found five small cannonballs wrapped in paper towels and notified a supervisor.
“My first thought was, ‘I couldn’t see a fuse and need to get some help quick,’” Lead TSA Officer Justin Dupree said in a statement Friday from the agency. “I couldn’t see the entire item but was scared I might have been holding a live explosive.”
This photo provided by the TSA shows a stolen Civil War-era cannonball discovered by TSA officers in a checked bag at the Gulf Shores International Airport in Gulf Shores, Ala., on July 18, 2026. TSA via AP
“I had never seen anything quite this unique,” Dupree said. “I’ve seen inert grenades and training munitions but never an Indiana Jones-esque stolen artifact-type situation.”
The cannonballs — the largest about the size of grapefruits and weighing about as much as a shot put ball — were inactive and didn’t contain any explosive material or active components, the TSA said. Still, cannonballs are artillery munitions and considered prohibited items on planes.
“I had never seen anything like this,” Supervisory TSA Officer Richard Cash said in a statement. “It was my first time dealing with a potentially live explosive, and it’s actually only the second incident we’ve had since JKA opened in May 2025.”
Police eventually determined the cannonballs were stolen from Fort Morgan, based on paint marking applied to the artifacts by fort staff, and that they dated to the American Civil War. The historic Gulf Shores fort played a significant role in several military conflicts, including the Civil War.
The Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday that a juvenile stole the cannonballs from a storage area in the fort and then placed them in their grandmother’s checked bag. The grandmother told officers she did not know they were stolen.
Spokespersons for Fort Morgan didn’t respond to an email seeking comment. The sheriff’s office said the institution declined to press charges, and the artifacts were returned to the fort.
TSA has been screening more than 2 million passengers a day this summer and has encountered some unusual items in travelers’ luggage. This summer alone, TSA has found two live smoke grenades, an inert grenade, a pipe bomb look-alike and a samurai sword hidden in a guitar case.
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