‘Scary’ reason teen stopped by airport police

A family was left “terrified” after their teenage daughter was stopped by security at Hong Kong airport over a simple set of keys.

A US family was left “terrified” after they were stopped by security at an international airport over a keychain.

Jennifer Kendall, from Texas, was travelling with her husband and six children to Hong Kong, when her teenage daughter got pulled to the side.

The foster mother explained police had surrounded her eldest daughter, describing it as a “really scary situation”.

The high-schooler had just finished class in Dallas and drove herself to the airport where she met the rest of her family.

Jennifer Kendall, from Texas, has shared her family’s ‘scary’ airport experience at Hong Kong in a TikTok that has amassed more than 13 million views.

She checked in her luggage with ease — however, once the family arrived at Hong Kong, security noticed something suspicious about a piece of jewellery in her suitcase.

The young girl had tossed her keychain in the bag and had “forgotten” it had mace, or pepper spray, inside it.

Hong Kong has strict laws forbidding pepper sprays.

Jennifer said the family made it past security in Texas, “but when we went through security in Hong Kong, she was immediately pulled to the side”.

“[She] graduated from high school and was away at school in Dallas. She was packing for herself and coming straight after classes,” Jennifer explained in a viral TikTok.

“It was a real tight squeeze for her. We were flying from another airport and had a layover in Dallas.

“So she joined us in Dallas. She had to drive herself and park there and on her keychain she carries mace or pepper spray. Not the weapon with the spike on the end.”

The mother-of-six said her eldest daughter, who recently graduated from high school, ‘forgot’ she had mace, or pepper spray in her luggage.

The mum said her daughter threw her keys into her luggage because she didn’t want to lose them.

And because they were checked into her luggage, it didn’t get caught by TSA (Transportation Security Administration) officers.

When the family arrived in Hong Kong, all their luggage had to go through inspection and that’s when Jennifer and her husband found out their daughter had pepper spray in her luggage.

“We’ve travelled a lot, we have travelled outside of the country a lot – she knows that [and] we know that is not OK,” Jennifer said about the pepper spray.

“It was an honest mistake. Everyone is saying, ‘Why were you scared or surprised.’

“We were surprised because we didn’t know what was in there. She was surprised because she had forgotten it was in there and we were scared because we were on the other side of the world.”

She was immediately stopped at Hong Kong airport.

The mother-of-six said it was “really scary” not knowing what was going to happen as security and police didn’t leave her daughter’s side.

“I was frantic,” she said.

“I was telling my husband, ‘Stay with her, don’t not let her leave you for any reason and I will stay with the rest of the kids’ and to make sure they don’t take her anywhere.

“We were really scared and didn’t know what would happen if she got taken from our sight.”

Jennifer said everything turned out OK and security put a mark on her passport.

“They put a flag in there [too].”

Jennifer said the family was ‘terrified’ as they didn’t know what was going to happen.

She explained her daughter had mace in her keychain which she tossed into her luggage. It is prohibited in many countries.

“We were scared, like terrified, the rest of the time we were there.”

However, she said the police were “very kind” and let the family leave.

The mum’s two TikToks have amassed more than 13.3 million views and close to 20,000 comments.

Some had a go at her, asking why she didn’t learn about the country’s rules, to which she responded: “It was an honest mistake. She drove herself to the airport and threw her keys into her checked bag – not remembering mace was on her keys.”

When an Australian user commented, “In Australia the family would have ended up in detention and return the next day with a massive fine,” Jennifer said she was worried that was going to happen.

She said police eventually let the family leave and said it was an ‘honest mistake’.

“As a Brit I’m flabbergasted you attempted to bring mace to an airport. ️I’m too nervous to even take tweezers,” another person wrote.

Many came to the young girl’s defence saying it is a sad reality for women.

“Let’s not forget, girls carry mace as a means of self defence and it usually goes everywhere we go. It’s a simple mistake to forget you have it on you,” one person wrote.

“Y’all don’t understand that most women in the US carry mace for safety because we don’t want to die. So calm down!” another added.

Others hit back at the “haters” agreeing with the mum that it looked to be an “honest mistake”.

“Why are people being so mean lmao. I have done this! I brought a backpack I used for college and didn’t realise the pepper spray I carried was in it,” one woman wrote.

“Why are the comments to aggressive? Some people make mistakes as the creator has said countless times,” another added.

Jennifer said “to all the haters out there” to give the family a break.

“We are foster/adoptive parents and so don’t be hating on us. Were just good people trying to take our kids on adventures and create memories.”