Weapons Charges For Burlington Co. Man With Handgun At Philly Airport

PHILADELPHIA, PA — Federal officials said a Burlington County man had an unloaded handgun at the Philadelphia International Airport security checkpoint last week.

Transportation Security Administration officers stopped the Willingboro man from bringing his handgun onto a flight on Friday, officials said. It was unloaded, but the man had 14 bullets tucked into his carry-on bag near the firearm, the TSA said. Related article — Gun Caught At Philadelphia International Airport Friday

Officers caught the gun as the man entered the security checkpoint.

The X-ray unit alerted on the carry-on bag. Local police confiscated the gun and arrested the man on weapons charge, said the TSA.

The man also faces a stiff financial civil penalty, officials said. The penalty for carrying weapons recently increased to a maximum of $15,000, according to the TSA.

To date this year, TSA has found five guns at the airport. Passengers are only permitted to travel with firearms in checked baggage.

Firearms must be unloaded then packed in a hard-sided locked case. The locked case should be taken to the airline check-in counter to be declared.

TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm posted on its website.

Patch's Max Bennett contributed to this report.