Palos Heights Man Arrested with Gun at Midway Airport

A Palos Heights man who brought a loaded handgun to Midway Airport Tuesday is the seventh person to do so this year, according to Chicago Police.

Jose Perez, 34, had a .45-caliber Springfield handgun in his carry-on luggage, and TSA agents found the weapon at about 7:50 a.m. One round was in the chamber, police said. Perez is due in court April 17 on a misdemeanor charge of carrying a concealed firearm to an airport.

In 2014, six guns were found at Midway Airport’s security checkpoint. Just three months into 2015, seven have been seized.

Earlier this month, a Markham woman brought a handgun to the security checkpoint. Hers was the fourth firearm at Midway. A day later, a Florida man brought one. On March 16, a pastor from Gary, IN, brought his handgun, a loaded Taurus 9 mm, to Midway Airport. He said it was “an innocent mistake” and that he carried to weapon for protection.

In February, a Lemont woman brought her handgun to Midway. She told police she uses the pistol to kill snakes on her Kentucky farm.

A Naperville man was the first to bring a handgun to Midway Airport this year, back in January. When he appeared in court, a judge called him “foolish and arrogant.”

» READ: This is the Correct and Legal Way to Bring a Gun to the Airport

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. Civil fines average about $3,000, though some fine are as high as $11,000.