ROMULUS — Three passengers were detained at Detroit Metro Airport on Sunday after “suspicious activity” turned out to be a case of them simply using the restroom according to FBI Detroit spokesman Sandra Berchtold, who was quoted in local reports.

Other stories and speculation about sexual encounters in the restroom turned out to be false. However, the story has continued to make national headlines in what could be a case of racial profiling. 

Shoshana Hebshi, a half-Arab, half-Jewish mother from Ohio, said on her blog that she thought flying on September 11 from Denver to Detroit would be easy due to smaller lines, but she was reported as being suspicious along with two Indian men who sat near her. The three were taken into custody by armed officials before each was strip-searched and detained. They had been reported because of the extra time they spent in the bathroom. 

F-16 warplanes were also sent to shadow the plane prior to it landing in Detroit at about 3:30 p.m. 

Berchtold called the incident a “false alarm” and said the three were victims of “circumstance” and “victims of the day,” describing them as “very cooperative.”