BWI Security Finds Loaded Gun In NC Man's Carry-On Bag: Report

LINTHICUM, MD — Security officers stopped a North Carolina man with a loaded handgun at Baltimore/Washington International Airport on Sunday, authorities said. A Transportation Security Administration officer spotted the gun in a bag as it passed through an X-ray machine, according to a press release.

TSA turned the man, Austin Lee Lynch, over to the Maryland Transportation Authority Police, who arrested him. The suspect faces charges of interfering with security procedures and wearing, carrying and transporting a handgun on his person. Lynch, 23, is from Elizabeth City.

A TSA spokesperson said the 9 mm gun was loaded with six bullets. Lynch said he forgot that he had the gun on him, authorities said, and TSA does not believe he had any intention of using the weapon.

"Guns are prohibited in the cabins of airplanes," said Andrea R. Mishoe, TSA’s federal security director for Maryland. "It’s nothing new. In fact, it’s a law that has been in place long before TSA even existed."

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.

That was the 10th gun caught at BWI in 2020. The ninth catch came Oct. 18, when police arrested Baltimore man Ayyub Ansari Anif, 35, on similar charges.

Those numbers are down from 2019, when TSA spotted 27 guns at the airport. BWI has seen fewer travelers this year, however, because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

TSA snagged more than 4,000 guns at airports around the country last year, averaging about 12 per day. A TSA report says 87 percent of those guns were loaded.

"Our officers are skilled at their jobs and are United Together, to Protect our Homeland," Mishoe said.

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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