Loaded Gun Found In Bel Air Man's Backpack At Philadelphia International Airport

HARFORD COUNTY, MD — A Bel Air man has been arrested at the Philadelphia International Airport after Transportation Security Administration officers found a loaded 9mm handgun in his backpack with a bullet in the chamber.

A TSA officer spotted the gun in the checkpoint X-ray machine. The Philadelphia Police were notified and the gun confiscated.

In addition to the arrest charge, the unidentified man also will be required to pay a federal financial civil penalty of up to $15,000 for carrying a weapon into an airport or onto an airplane. The penalty applies to travelers with or without concealed gun carry permits, according to the TSA.

Travelers are allowed to transport firearms as checked baggage carried in the belly of the plane so that no one has access to a gun during a flight. Checked firearms must be unloaded, placed in a hard-sided case, locked and packed separately from ammunition.

Nationwide, the TSA said its officers detected 5,972 firearms on passengers or their carry-on bags at checkpoints during 2021. Of those, it reported, an estimated 86 percent were loaded. The TSA expects to detect approximately 6,600 firearms at security checkpoints across the country by the end of 2022, setting a new record.

See more:

BWI Airport Security Seizes Record Number Of Guns In 2022 | Odenton, MD Patch