What I don't get is why they are selecting obviously elderly and/or disabled passengers for a gate check.

My experirence - I witnessed an elederly woman in a wheelchair being asked to get out of her chair for inspection while someone looked through her carry on.

And, last week, my 70ish parents were also randomly selected at the gate. From reading this board and my experiences, I knew it would happen & warned them.

It appears that the screeners are "randomly" selecting the LEAST likely candidates to be carried disallowed items.

Mary