Silver Spring Woman Cited For Bringing Gun To VA Airport Checkpoint

ARLINGTON, VA — Transportation Security Administration officers discovered a 9 mm firearm, with one round in the chamber, among a Silver Spring, Maryland woman's carry-on items Thursday at a Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport checkpoint.

“It is troubling to see travelers continue to bring their firearms to our checkpoints instead of properly packing them for a flight,” said John Busch, TSA’s federal security director for the airport.

Washington Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police confiscated the weapon and issued a citation to the woman, who now faces a potential criminal penalty of $15,000.

“A loaded, unsecured firearm, with an unwitting owner, is just a tragedy waiting to happen," Busch said. "Nearly all the travelers we encounter with a firearm say, ‘I forgot it was there.’ That is very concerning. If you want to travel with your firearm, all that we ask is that you pack it the right way. It is a fairly simple process. For starters, it needs to be unloaded. Pack the unloaded gun in a hard-sided locked case. Take the case to the airline check-in counter and declare that you want to fly with it. The airline will make sure it is transported to your destination in the belly of the plane so that nobody has access to it during the flight. It really is that easy.”

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.

Including the handgun confiscated on Thursday, TSA officers have detected a total of 26 firearms at Washington National in 2024. Thirty-nine firearms were stopped at the airport in 2023, which was 10 more than the previous year.