Traffic & Transit
Loaded Gun At Newark Airport Checkpoint; Florida Man Arrested
The man claimed that he did not realize that he was traveling with a loaded gun in his carry-on bag, authorities said.
NEWARK, NJ — Police arrested a Florida resident at Newark Airport on Monday after finding a loaded handgun in his carry-on bag, authorities said.
A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officer at Terminal C spotted a .38 caliber revolver at an X-ray machine checkpoint. It was loaded with four bullets.
Port Authority police confiscated the gun and arrested the man on a state weapons charge. The traveler faces a $15,000 maximum fine, authorities said.
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The man claimed that he did not realize that he was traveling with a loaded gun in his carry-on bag, authorities said.
According to a statement from the TSA:
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“The TSA reserves the right to issue a civil penalty to travelers who have guns and gun parts with them at a checkpoint. This applies to individuals with or without concealed gun carry permits because even though an individual may have a concealed carry permit, it does not allow for a firearm to be carried onto an airplane. The complete list of civil penalties is posted online. If a traveler with a gun is a member of TSA PreCheck, that individual will lose their TSA PreCheck privileges.”
The TSA adds:
“Guns can be transported on a flight if they are unloaded, packed in a locked, hard-sided case and declared to the airline. The airline will be sure that the gun travels with checked baggage in the belly of the plane, never in the cabin of the plane. Additionally, replica firearms also are prohibited in carry-on baggage and also must be transported in checked luggage.”
“Travelers need to pay more attention to the items that they have inside their carry-on bags,” said Thomas Carter, TSA’s federal security director for New Jersey.
“Travelers area responsible for the contents of their carry-on bags,” Carter said. “In addition, responsible gun owners know where their firearms are at all times and they know not to bring them to a security checkpoint.”
Monday’s incident is the third gun confiscated at Newark Airport this year. There were 20 “firearms catches” at the airport in 2023 and 14 in 2022.
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