SC Man Cited For Bringing Gun To Dulles Airport Security Checkpoint

DULLES, VA — Transportation Security Administration officers prevented a South Carolina man from bringing a loaded handgun onto of flight leaving Washington Dulles International Airport on Wednesday.

The X-ray unit at an airport security checkpoint alerted TSA officers that they had detected a firearm among the man's carry-on items. Searching the items, the officers found a .40 caliber weapon was loaded with eight bullets, as well as two gun magazines loaded with a total of 12 bullets, according to TSA. The man told the officers that he'd forgotten that he had the loaded gun with him

“Telling us that you forgot that you were carrying a loaded gun is inexcusable. Travelers need to pay more attention to the items that they have inside their carry-on bags,” said Scott T. Johnson, TSA’s federal security director for the airport. “Travelers are responsible for the contents of their carry-on bags. In addition, responsible gun owners know where their firearms are at all times and they know not to bring them to a security checkpoint. Bringing guns to checkpoints is a serious security violation.”

Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police confiscated the weapon and magazines, citing the man on a weapons charge. He faces potential civil penalties of up to $15,000.

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.