TSA officers detected this loaded handgun in a man’s carry-on bag at Reagan National Airport on April 8. (TSA photo)
WASHINGTON – The number of passengers flying is down due to the coronavirus, but Transportation Security Administration officers remain alert and yesterday they detected a 9 mm handgun loaded with eight bullets along with an additional clip with eight additional bullets in a Prince William County, Virginia, man’s carry-on bag at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) on Wednesday (April 8).
The gun was spotted by a TSA officer in the checkpoint X-ray machine. TSA contacted the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police, who arrived at the checkpoint, confiscated the gun and detained the man, a resident of Woodbridge, Virginia, for questioning before citing him on a weapons charge.
As a reminder, individuals who bring firearms to the checkpoint are subject to possible criminal charges from law enforcement. Even travelers with concealed firearm permits are not allowed to bring guns onto airplanes. In addition, TSA has the authority to assess civil for weapons brought to airports and the typical first offense for carrying a handgun into a checkpoint is $4,100. The complete list of penalties is posted online.
Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms in checked baggage if they are properly packaged and declared at the airline check-in counter. Firearms must be unloaded, packed in a hard-sided case, locked and packed separately from ammunition. Firearm possession laws vary by state and locality.
Nationwide last year, 4,432 firearms were discovered in carry-on bags at checkpoints across the country, averaging about 12.1 firearms per day, approximately a 5% increase nationally in firearm discoveries from the total of 4,239 detected in 2018. Eighty-seven percent of firearms detected at checkpoints last year were loaded.
Guns caught at DCA checkpoints from 2015 to 2020
|
Year |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 (as of 4-8-20) |
|
Guns caught at DCA checkpoints |
15 |
17 |
13 |
16 |
14 |
5 |
TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm posted on its website. Airlines may have additional requirements for traveling with firearms and ammunition. Travelers should also contact their airline regarding firearm and ammunition carriage policies.
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