4th Gun Of 2020 Confiscated At BWI Airport

HANOVER, MD — A Delaware man was arrested Friday on weapons charges for having a loaded handgun in his carry-on bag while passing through a TSA checkpoint at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport. A TSA officer spotted a .380 caliber handgun loaded with four bullets while the weapon was inside the checkpoint X-ray machine.

Maryland Transportation Authority Police were notified, arrived at the checkpoint, confiscated the firearm and detained the man, a resident of Lincoln, Delaware, for questioning before arresting him. He told officials that he had forgotten he had his loaded gun with him.

As of Jan. 23, four guns have been detected at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport checkpoints. In 2019, a total of 27 guns were confiscated, up from 22 guns in 2018.

Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms in checked baggage if they are properly packaged and declared at their airline check-in counter. Firearms must be unloaded, packed in a hard-sided case, locked and packed separately from ammunition. Firearm possession laws vary by state and locality.

A typical first offense for carrying a handgun into a checkpoint is $4,100. This applies to travelers with or without concealed gun carry permits because even though an individual may have a concealed carry permit, it does not allow for a firearm to be carried onto an airplane. The complete list of civil penalties is posted online here: https://www.tsa.gov/travel/civil-enforcement.

Nationwide last year, 4,432 firearms were discovered in carry-on bags at checkpoints across the country, averaging about 12.1 firearms per day, approximately a 5% increase nationally in firearm discoveries from the total of 4,239 detected in 2018. Eighty-seven percent of firearms detected at checkpoints last year were loaded.

A typical first offense for carrying a handgun into a checkpoint is $4,100. This applies to travelers with or without concealed gun carry permits because even though an individual may have a concealed carry permit, it does not allow for a firearm to be carried onto an airplane. The complete list of civil penalties is posted online here: https://www.tsa.gov/travel/civil-enforcement.

TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm posted on its website. Travelers should also contact their airline as they may have additional requirements for traveling with firearms and ammunition.