VA Man Blames Wife For Loaded Gun In Carry-On Bag At Reagan National

ARLINGTON, VA — A Virginia man blamed his wife for a loaded handgun that was found in his carry-on bag on Thursday by security officials at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, according to the Transportation Security Administration.

The .22 caliber pistol was loaded with five bullets and was packed in the man’s carry-on bag, TSA said Friday.

William Buchholz, 70, of King George "blamed his wife and told officials that she packed his carry-on bag and did not know that he already had his loaded gun inside," TSA said.

Police confiscated the gun and cited Buchholz on state charges.

The gun was caught as the man entered the security checkpoint at Reagan National Airport. The X-ray unit alerted the TSA to take a closer look and inspect the carry-on bag, which was opened by police for a closer inspection.

“It is disappointing to continue to see travelers carrying their loaded guns to our security checkpoints,” John Busch, TSA’s federal security director for the airport, said in a statement Friday. “My advice is that when packing for a flight to start with a completely empty bag, and all travelers must pack their own bag, so that there are no surprises when someone gets to our checkpoint.”

“When you start with an empty bag, there are no chances that a prohibited or illegal item is inside and incidents like the one that happened on Thursday don’t happen again,” Busch said.

This is the sixth firearm that the TSA security officials have caught in the last three weeks.

“There is no reasonable excuse for not knowing you are carrying an unsecured, loaded firearm in your bag. It presents a danger to everyone around you,” Busch said.

As of Sept. 21, TSA security officials have confiscated 28 firearms at Reagan National Airport. A record 30 firearms were caught at the airport in 2021 and 29 were caught in 2022.

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 said.

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