100 before they hit the streets of the city. eugene harvey was arrested in his home on monday. harvey bought the firearms on a carry on luggage on five flights from the atlanta to jfk airport between now and december. we ll keep an eye on this developing story. other than former president bush in the hospital christmas eve after being rushed last night to houston methodist after experiencing shortness of breath. molly has the latest on his continue. reporter: gean becker chief of staff is suggesting that the 41st president may not be in the hospital too much longer. she said in a statement, the bush family certainly appreciates all of your prayer, love and concern.
investigators. they put guns on a plane this time. they could easily put a bomb on one of those planes. reporter: here s how authorities say it happened. delta baggage handler eugene harvey uses his badge to enter the secure area of the airport bypassing security checkpoints. most airport and airline employees like ramp workers and baggage handlers undergo security vetting and reoccurring background checks. but they do not go through daily tsa screening to gain access to secure and restricted airport areas. the accomplice former delta employee mark henry clears tsa and arrives at a concourse, the two men communicate by text message and meet in an airport bathroom. once inside out of the camera s view, the guns are handed off. tsa, the airports and the airlines after 9/11 are there to prevent this type of incident occurringrd henry seen here in
this time. they could have easily put a bomb on one of the planes. reporter: here s how authorities say it happened. delta baggage handler eugene harvey with a backpack full of guns used his badge to enter the secure area of airport bypassing security checkpoints. most airline employees like ramp workers and baggage handlers undergo security vetting and reoccurring background checks but do not go through daily tsa screening to gain access to secure and restrict airport areas. . arrives at a concourse and two men communicate by text message and meet in the airport bathroom. once inside, out of the camera s view, the guns are handed off. after 9/11, it s still to prevent this from happening. reporter: henry seen here in surveillance video boarded
apartment door, can shoot through a bulletproof vest. reporter: prosecutors say henry had a lifetime of free companion flights because his mother was also a longstanding delta employee. he used them to transport the weapons. but cops say henry was at it for years in brooklyn. we know his gun-smuggling went back to 1991. this person literally has facilitated genocide on the brooklyn streets. reporter: authorities pored over surveillance video showing henry allegedly carrying a full backpack after eugene harvey, the delta baggage handler, passed him the guns in an airport bathroom in atlanta. harvey, an employee and not subject to tsa screening which the d.a. says should be a major wake-up call. this was an egregious breach in our nation s airport security.
today s winter storm watches and warnings may cause delays and cancellations and make travel today more frustrating. serious concerns about airport security as new details emerge about a brazen gun smuggling ring. loaded weapons carried on to at least 20 commercial flights between atlanta and new york. investigators call it an inside job that bypassed even tsa screeners. more from abc s stacey sager. reporter: the timing of the indictment couldn t be worse. as thousands are about to get on airplanes for holiday travel all over the country, the news of a major gun-running operation on commercial flights. five men now charged. at the center of it, two, a former delta employee, mark henry and a current one, eugene harvey, who allegedly smuggled 153 guns on delta flights over the past eight months. what kind? this is an ak-47. this gun can shoot through a car door, can shoot through an