TSA Seizes Sixth Loaded Gun Of 2019 At BWI Airport

HANOVER, MD – A Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, man was arrested Feb. 7 after screening officers at Baltimore Washington International Airport stopped him from bringing a loaded handgun onto an airplane. It marked the sixth gun caught at the airport in the first six weeks of the new year, according to a TSA spokeswoman.

Transportation Security Administration officers, who saw the gun in the checkpoint X-ray machine, contacted the Maryland Transportation Authority Police, who confiscated the gun and arrested the man on a state weapons charge. The man told officials that he forgot that he had his loaded gun with him. He was carrying a .380 caliber gun loaded with six bullets.

Last year TSA officers detected 22 firearms at the Baltimore airport’s checkpoints. 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 last year were loaded and nearly 34 percent had a bullet in the chamber.

Authorities remind airline passengers that firearms are never allowed at security checkpoints. Passenger who try to transport 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. Firearms are permitted 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. Ask about limitations or fees.

More information on how to travel with a firearm can be found on the TSA's website.

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PHOTO: TSA officers at BWI International Airport detected this loaded handgun in a traveler’s carry-on bag on February 7. It was the sixth gun caught at the airport in the first six weeks of the new year. (TSA photo)