3 Straight Days Gun Found In Bag At BWI Airport

HANOVER, MD — For the third straight day, a passenger at Baltimore-Washington International Airport has been charged with bringing a handgun in carry-on baggage to a security checkpoint, federal officials say. A Hopewell, Virginia, man was stopped May 24 with an unloaded 9 mm handgun in his carry-on bag.

The man told TSA officials that he was carrying a bag that he usually takes to the firing range and he did not know the gun was with him. Maryland Transportation Authority Police confiscated the gun and charged the flier with weapons violations.

On May 23 a Pasadena man was stopped by Transportation Security Administration officers at a checkpoint after screeners spotted a 9-mm handgun loaded with seven bullets including one in the chamber, along with a spare magazine clip loaded with seven additional bullets.

The incident followed a Glen Burnie woman caught with a loaded .38-caliber handgun at one of the security checkpoints on May 22. She told authorities that she forgot the weapon was in her bag.

Friday's seizure marked the 14th handgun caught by TSA officers at BWI Airport so far this year, already more than half of the number stopped during all 12 months of 2018 when TSA officers caught 22 firearms at the airport checkpoints. If the number of guns that travelers bring to BWI Airport checkpoints continues at this pace, it is likely to set a record for guns at the airport checkpoints well before the end of the year, authorities noted in a press release.

A record 26 guns were seized at BWI Airport in 2017.

Nationwide last year, 4,239 firearms were discovered in carry-on bags at checkpoints across the country, averaging about 11.6 firearms per day, about a 7 percent increase nationally in firearm discoveries from the total of 3,957 detected in 2017. Eighty-six percent of firearms detected at checkpoints in 2018 were loaded and nearly 34 percent had a bullet in the chamber, the TSA says.

Firearms are never allowed at security checkpoints. Passengers who try to carry 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. Weapons can by 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.

More information on how to travel with a firearm is on the TSA's website.