A Leesburg teen's love of lasers led him into trouble with federal authorities.
On Friday, September 3, the Loudoun County Sheriff's Department put the pieces together: Back on August 27, Loudoun County authorities were called to Landsdowne to investigate a report that several drivers and one deputy sheriff had been lasered.
Then, on September 1, airport authorities reported that a plane on approach to Washington Dulles International Airport was lasered. A deputy sheriff who recalled the previous incident interviewed the kids. One 15-year-old boy from Leesburg owned up to the lasering.
The case is now being reviewed by federal authorities. No charges have been filed against the teen at this time.
Lasers, while cool, can be a hazard. Even low-power laser pointers like those available to consumers can cause a flash blindness capable of momentarily incapacitating a person -- or worse. Pranksters have been known to use laser pointers to distract or blind drivers.
Update: The teen has not been arrested, as the original report indicated.
