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14-Year-Old Arrested For Allegedly Pointing Laser At Airplane

Today, Los Angeles police said they arrested a 14-year-old boy who pointed a laser at a Boeing 737 landing at Los Angeles International Airport.

The Los Angeles Times reports:

Pilots pinpointed the laser's origin about 8 p.m. Tuesday and called police, who went to the boy's home near Avalon Boulevard and East 161st Street in South Los Angeles, said Sgt. William Dougherty of the Los Angeles Police Department.

Police arrived by helicopter, and the boy pointed the green laser at the chopper as it flew in, Dougherty said. The boy was arrested and held in juvenile custody.

We've reported before about the seriousness of pointing lasers at aircraft. NPR's Wright Bryan reported that in 2010 the FAA said there were 2,836 cases of this kind. Last month, NPR's Mandalit Del Barco talked to one pilot who was temporarily incapacitated by a laser.

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Eyder Peralta
Eyder Peralta is NPR's East Africa correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya.