Weapons Charges Filed Against MD Man Found With Loaded Gun At Dulles Airport Checkpoint

DULLES, VA — A Montgomery County, Maryland man was stopped by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers Thursday for trying to bring a loaded gun onto a flight leaving from Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), according to a TSA release.

TSA officers discovered the 9 mm handgun, which was loaded with seven bullets, as the man was passing through an IAD checkpoint. TSA alerted the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority police, who confiscated the gun and cited the traveler on weapons charges.

For carrying the gun to a TSA checkpoint, the Clarksburg, Maryland resident faces an additional stiff federal penalty that could include thousands of dollars in fines.

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.

To date, TSA agents have stopped 16 firearms at IAD checkpoints this year. Here are the number of firearms stopped by TSA agents at the airport each year since 2017:

• 2017: 19
• 2018: 17
• 2019: 19
• 2020: 7*
• 2021: 16*

*The airport saw fewer passengers traveling during the pandemic.