2 Firearm Arrests in 3 Days at Chicago Airports: What Usually Happens in These Cases?

For the second time in less than a week, a traveler has arrived at a Chicago airport with a firearm in a carry-on bag. On Tuesday, 47-year-old Brian R. Hardman was arrested at an O’Hare International Airport security checkpoint after a 9mm handgun and full magazine was found in his bag at about 8 a.m.

The Evansville, Ind., man is charged with attempting to board an aircraft with a weapon, a felony, and unlawful use of a weapon, a misdemeanor, according to Chicago Police.

On Sunday morning, Faith DuBois, 58, of Lemont, brought her 9mm pistol to Midway International Airport, according to police. A TSA agent spotted the weapon as her carry-on bag passed through the X-ray machine. The gun was wrapped inside a white sock. DuBois told police she uses the gun to shoot snakes on her Kentucky farm and forgot her piece was in the bag. She also faces a felony charge of attempting to board an aircraft with a weapon.

RELATED: How to Legally Travel with a Firearm

In 2014, 26 guns were found in passengers’ bags at Chicago’s two airports, according to the Transportation Security Administration. Twenty of them were taken to O’Hare. In 2013, 29 guns were seized. Nationwide, 2,212 guns were brought by airport travelers to security stations in 2014 — an all-time record — and 83 percent of them were loaded.

So, what happens to people caught with guns at Chicago’s airports? More than half plead to a misdemeanor or have their case dropped, according to an NBC 5 Chicago report published last year. And civil fines average about $3,000, though some fine are as high as $11,000.

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