Loaded Handgun Found In Florida Woman's Carry-On Bag At Dulles Airport

DULLES, VA — A Florida woman was stopped from bringing a loaded handgun onto her fight leaving from Washington Dulles International Airport on Friday, according to a Transportation Security Administration release.

The X-ray unit at an airport security checkpoint alerted a TSA officer to inspect the woman's carry-on bag. After discovering a 9mm handgun with eight bullets, including one in the chamber, the officer contacted the Metropolitan Airports Authority police. After the officers confiscated the gun, the cited the woman on a weapons charge, according to the TSA release.

The woman told police that she had forgotten that she was carrying a loaded handgun in her bag.

“Our TSA officers continue to remain on top of preventing loaded firearms from entering the secure area of the airport,” said Scott T. Johnson, TSA’s federal security director for the airport, in a release. “Forgetting that you are carrying a loaded firearm is a public safety concern, as it could accidentally be discharged. Responsible gun owners need to know where their firearm is at all times.”

Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms in checked baggage if they are properly packaged and declared at their airline ticket counter. Firearms must be unloaded, packed in a hard-sided locked case, and packed separately from ammunition. The locked case must be taken to the airline check-in counter to be declared.

The handgun found by the TSA was the 22nd handgun to be confiscated at the airport since the beginning of the year

The following is a list of the number of handguns caught at Washington Dulles International Airport from 2017 through 2022:

• 2017 - 13
• 2018 - 16
• 2019 - 14
• 2020 - 10
• 2021 - 30
• 2022 - 22 (As of Dec. 12)