BWI Sees Gun Arrest On 9/11; Man Posed No Threat To Public: TSA

LINTHICUM, MD — On the 19th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, security stopped a Prince George's County man with a loaded handgun at Baltimore/Washington International Airport. A Transportation Security Administration officer spotted the gun around 5 a.m. as it passed through the X-ray machine in a bag, according to a press release.

TSA turned the accused man, Leon D. Cullum, over to the Maryland Transportation Authority Police, who arrested him. Cullum faces charges of carrying an unauthorized weapon prohibited in airports and wearing, carrying and transporting a handgun. Cullum, 42, is from Oxon Hill.

A TSA spokesperson said the .45-caliber handgun was loaded with seven bullets. TSA does not believe he had any intentions of using the weapon.

"On this, the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on our nation, it is extremely disturbing to see a traveler attempt to bring a loaded handgun onto an airplane," said Andrea R. Mishoe, TSA’s Federal Security Director for Maryland. "Guns are prohibited in the cabins of airplanes. 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 ninth gun caught at BWI in 2020. The eighth catch came two days earlier when police arrested Owings Mills man Michael G. Bronfein, 65, 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.

"Today we all take a moment to reflect on the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001. TSA was created in a time of this nation’s urgent need and we remain just as committed to our mission today as we were 19 years ago," Mishoe said. "An attack on our transportation system will not happen again. Not on our watch."

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