20th Gun Of Year Seized AT BWI Airport: TSA

HANOVER, MD — A Hagerstown man told federal officials he didn't know there was a collapsible rifle in his carry-on bag when he entered the security checkpoint at Baltimore-Washington International Airport. It marked the 20th gun caught at one of the airport checkpoints so far this year. Last year Transportation Security Administration officers found 26 firearms at the airport’s checkpoints.

The Hagerstown man had an unloaded .40 caliber rifle in his carry-on bag; the gun was detected by a TSA officer when the man’s carry-on luggage entered the X-ray machine. The man told authorities he did not know that he was carrying a rifle because his mother had packed his bag.

“That excuse just doesn’t fly,” TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein told WTOP. Maryland Transportation Authority Police confiscated the gun and arrested the man on weapons charges.

Detecting firearms carried by airline passengers means that other passengers get delayed in catching their flights, the TSA says.

"When someone brings a firearm to a checkpoint, it closes the checkpoint lane until the situation can be resolved, thus forcing the other travelers to shift into another lane and delaying their passage through the checkpoint," the agency said in the statement.

Travelers who bring firearms to TSA checkpoints are subject to criminal charges. Even travelers with firearm permits are not allowed to bring guns onto airplanes.

Authorities remind airline passengers that firearms are never allowed at security checkpoints. Passenger who try to transport firearms through security checkpoints face criminal charges and the TSA has the authority to assess fines of up to $13,000. A typical first offense for carrying a handgun into a checkpoint is $3,900.

What is the proper procedure for transporting firearms on flights?

Firearms are never permitted in carry-on bags. Firearms are permitted in checked bags if the following requirements are met:

• They are declared to the airline in advance.
• They are unloaded and properly packed.
• The carrier possesses the necessary permits.

Firearms carried as checked baggage must be unloaded, packed in a locked hard-sided container, and declared to the airline at check-in. Read the guidelines.

Firearm parts, including magazines, clips, bolts and firing pins, are prohibited in carry-on, but may be transported in checked baggage.

Passengers should check with their airline if ammunition is permitted in checked baggage. Small arms ammunitions for personal use must be packed in fiber, wood or metal boxes designed to carry small amounts of ammunition. Ask about limitations or fees.

More information on how to travel with a firearm can be found on the TSA's website.

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TSA officers prevented a man from bringing this rifle onto an airplane on October 12 at BWI Airport. (Photo courtesy of TSA.)