2 VA Men Stopped With Firearms In Carry-On Bags At National Airport

ARLINGTON, VA — Transportation Security Administration officers stopped two men from bringing firearms onto two flights leaving Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington over the weekends.

On Saturday, TSA offices discovered a 9 mm handgun loaded with 10 bullets inside the bag of a traveler from Falls Church. The next day, TSA officers found an unloaded .380 handgun in the backpack of a man from Leesburg. The man told officials that he'd forgotten that he had his gun with him. In both cases, TSA was alerted by the security checkpoint's X-ray unit to inspect the carry-on bag and backpack.

After confiscating the guns, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police cited each of the men on a weapons charge. The two men face a maximum penalty of $15,000 for bringing a weapon to an airport security checkpoint.

“Before heading to the airport, it is vital that travelers double-check the contents of their carry-on bags to ensure that there are no illegal or prohibited items inside.” said John Busch, TSA’s federal security director at National Airport. “Bringing a gun to an airport security checkpoint delays travelers. More important is the fact that bringing a gun to a checkpoint is a security risk that our officers take seriously, which is why these two travelers each face a federal financial civil penalty.”

People are allowed to travel with their handguns, but the handguns must be properly stored in their checked baggage and declared at check-in. In addition, handguns must be stored unloaded in a hard-locked case, with ammunition stored separately. The hard-locked case must be brought to the airline check-in window, where it will be checked with the traveler's baggage. TSA has more information available online for people traveling with firearms.

With the two weapons stoped over the weekend,TSA officers have detected a total of 12 firearms at Washington National in 2024. Thirty-nine firearms were stopped at the airport in 2023, which was 10 more than the previous year.