Joliet man charged in O'Hare security breach
A 21-year-old Joliet man accused of breaching a checkpoint at O'Hare International Airport and attacking security officers early Sunday faces five charges, including three felonies, Chicago police said Monday.
Malik Steffon Neal assaulted police officers and TSA officials in Terminal 3 after he ignored their commands to stop and tried to force his way aboard an airplane about 4:45 a.m. Sunday, police said.
Officers prevented Neal from entering the gate, at which point he's accused of attacking and striking officers repeatedly in the head and body, police said.
Two members of the Chicago Police Department and two TSA officers were attacked, police said. Neal did not get on board the plane, police said, and was taken to Presence Resurrection Medical Center in Chicago.
A police officer who suffered facial injuries also went to the hospital, police said, and a police sergeant was treated on the scene for a laceration to his ear.
Neal, of the 200 block of South Raynor Avenue, is charged with two counts of aggravated battery of a peace officer; aggravated battery causing great bodily harm; a misdemeanor charge of criminal trespass to state land; and a misdemeanor charge of battery with physical contact.
In a hearing midday Monday before Cook County Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil, he was ordered held without bail, the Chicago Tribune reported.