metro police
Matthew Hancock
Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021 | 7:05 p.m.
Air traffic at McCarran International Airport was temporarily halted Wednesday after a man rammed his limousine through security gates and claimed to have a bomb, according to a Metro Police arrest report.
Matthew Hancock, 36, was arrested Wednesday afternoon and booked at the Clark County Detention Center on counts of communicating a bomb threat, threatening an act of terrorism, trespassing and causing a dispersal hoax. He remains in custody, according to jail records.
Officers responded to the airport at about 6:45 p.m. after receiving a report of a vehicle performing doughnuts in the parking lot of a fixed-base operator, which is a commercial enterprise granted the right provide aviation services. Metro later received updated information that Hancock’s vehicle had breached security gates and was driving recklessly across the aircraft ramp.
At one point before police arrival, witnesses said Hancock parked his limo between a parked jet, exited his vehicle, donned a clown mask and screamed “I have a (expletive) bomb — I’m going to blow this place up,” according to the arrest report. Nearby employees fled and began to evacuate, and Hancock reentered his vehicle.
Metro arrived shortly after and ordered Hancock to exit the vehicle, police said. He complied and was immediately detained.
As Hancock was being detained, he stated his limo contained a “gasoline device,” and he had come to the airport to steal a jet because he wanted to fly to Area 51 “to look at aliens,” police said. Hancock also claimed he had a shotgun in the vehicle.
Officers searched the vehicle and found a “silver compression device — similar to an oxygen tank,” as well as what appeared to be a fire extinguisher with heavy gauge wiring wrapped around it situated on a wooden platform in the backseat. The contraption was consistent with a possible explosive device, police said.
The episode caused a “massive” response from Metro, including detectives from the counterterrorism and SWAT sections, but the number of officers was not stated in the arrest report. The Las Vegas Fire & Rescue Bomb Squad and FBI also responded.
Air traffic was altered “to protect life and property,” according to the report. It was not specified when normal air traffic resumed.
Police interviewed Hancock, and he told officers that he became “TikTok famous” after a video on the social media platform went viral showing him drifting his limousine on the Las Vegas Strip a few weeks ago.
Records show that Hancock was cited on Nov. 11 for misdemeanor reckless driving. Metro posted a video on its Twitter account later that day showing a limo driving erratically on the Strip, nearly hitting structures and nearby vehicles.
An initial appearance in Las Vegas Justice Court is scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday, court records show. It is not clear whether Hancock has an attorney at this time.
