5 Guns Caught At BWI Last Month, 4 Travelers Arrested: TSA

LINTHICUM, MD — Security stopped five people with handguns at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport throughout June, authorities said. Transportation Security Administration officers spotted each gun in separate carry-on bags as they passed through an X-ray machine, a press release noted.

TSA added that it turned the accused travelers over to the Maryland Transportation Authority Police, who arrested four of them and ticketed the fifth on gun charges.

A TSA spokesperson explained that:

• "On June 6, a Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, man was in possession of a .22 caliber handgun loaded with five bullets. The individual was arrested.
• "On June 7, a Forest Hill, Maryland, man was in possession of a .380 caliber handgun loaded with six bullets. The individual was arrested.
• "On June 16, a Nags Head, North Carolina, man was in possession of a .40 caliber handgun loaded with 10 bullets. The individual was arrested.
• "On June 25, a Baltimore, Maryland, man was in possession of a .22 caliber handgun loaded with five bullets. The individual was arrested.
• "On June 30, a Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, woman was in possession of a .40 caliber handgun. The individual was cited."

TSA does not think the suspects had any intentions of using their weapons.

"Claiming that you forgot that you had a gun with you is inexcusable," said Andrea Mishoe, TSA’s federal security director for Maryland. "If you own a firearm, you need to know where it is at all times."

TSA indicated that it has caught 12 guns at BWI this year. The agency reported that it stopped 13 firearms in 2020.

Those numbers are down from 2019 when TSA advised that it spotted 27 guns at the airport. BWI has seen fewer travelers since March 2020 because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, however. Passenger traffic has started to rebound this spring.

TSA mentioned that it snagged more than 3,257 guns at airports around the country last year, averaging nearly nine per day. A TSA report wrote that 83 percent of those guns were loaded.

"Guns are not allowed to be carried onto airplanes," Mishoe said. "Period."

Concealed carry permits do not allow passengers to travel through airport security with guns. Travelers can fly with a firearm, but only if they follow the correct steps.

To fly with a gun, it must be unloaded, packed in a checked bag and declared at the luggage drop. The owner must pack the gun in a hard-sided, locked suitcase.

Travelers are usually fined $4,100 the first time they bring a gun to a TSA checkpoint. The penalties can reach $13,669, depending on the circumstances.

TSA explains how to properly travel with a weapon at this link. Passengers can also call their airline for more information.

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