TSA Stops VA Man With Stolen, Loaded Gun At BWI, Charges Filed

ODENTON, MD — Security stopped a Virginia man with a stolen handgun at Baltimore-Washington International Airport on Monday, a press release said. A Transportation Security Authority officer spotted the gun as it passed through the X-ray machine in a bag, according to the report.

TSA turned the accused man over to the Maryland Transportation Authority Police, who arrested him on gun charges. The man, Alexandro Frontone Armour, is from McLean, Virginia.

Police charged Armour, 50, with possessing a stolen firearm, having a handgun on his person and carrying an unauthorized weapon in an airport. None of the charges are felonies. Armour's bail hearing is on Tuesday.

A TSA spokesperson said the .45 caliber handgun was loaded with seven bullets. The man told officials that he didn't know he had the gun in his bag because he had just moved to a new home.

“Our TSA officers have remained focused on their mission during this pandemic, and they are very skilled at detecting prohibited items,” said Andrea R. Mishoe, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the Maryland. “This was a good catch for several reasons, not the least of which was the fact that the gun had been reported as stolen.”

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 sixth gun caught at BWI in 2020. Those numbers are down from 2019 when TSA caught 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.

Travelers are usually fined $4,100 the first time they bring a gun to a TSA checkpoint.

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