ARLINGTON, Va. — A Maryland man is under arrest for attempting to bring a loaded gun onto his flight out of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Monday.
The man was stopped by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at one of the airport checkpoints when the gun was discovered. The .40-caliber gun was loaded with 13 bullets and was packed in the man’s carry-on bag.
TSA says it represents the 30th gun officers have caught coming through Reagan Airport this year, which ties the record set in 2021. It also follows a national trend, where a spike in travelers bringing guns to airport checkpoints across the country is being seen.
The gun was caught as the man entered the security checkpoint. The X-Ray machine alerted TSA officers to take a closer look and inspect his carry-on bag, which was opened by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police for a closer inspection. Officers confiscated the gun and arrested the man.
Guns are not permitted through the security checkpoint and now the man faces a stiff financial civil penalty from TSA. The penalty for carrying weapons can reach a maximum of $15,000.
“Our officers are good at their jobs and kept a dangerous weapon from being carried onto a flight,” said John Busch, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport. “This was the 30th gun that our officers have seen travelers bring to one of our checkpoints this year, which ties a record with 2 ½ months remaining in the year. Let me be perfectly clear--under no circumstances are travelers permitted to carry a firearm through a security checkpoint. This individual created a potentially dangerous situation through his own actions.”
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 has details on how to properly travel with a firearm posted on its website.
Last year, 6,542 firearms were caught at 262 out of 430 airport security checkpoints nationwide. So far this year more than 5,000 handguns have been stopped at security checkpoints by TSA officers across the country.
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