Man caught with loaded handgun at Eppley Airfield

OMAHA, Neb. – A local man was stopped by the Transportation Security Administration with a 9 mm handgun loaded with seven bullets at the Eppley Airfield security checkpoint yesterday, July 8.

TSA officers caught the handgun as it entered the checkpoint X-ray machine. Omaha Airport Authority Police were contacted, confiscated the gun and questioned the man, a resident of Omaha, before releasing him. The man told officials that he forgot that he had his loaded gun with him.

“If you own a firearm, it is smart to know where it is at all times,” said Michael Fowler, TSA’s Federal Security Director for Nebraska. “Travelers should never bring a gun to a checkpoint. The safe way to travel with a gun is to make sure it is unloaded and packed in a hard-sided case. Then put a lock on the case and take it to the airline check-in counter to declare that you want to fly with it. The airline representative will make sure that the firearm is stored in the belly of the plane so that nobody has access to it during the flight.”

TSA reserves the right to issue a civil penalty to travelers who have guns with them at a checkpoint. This applies to travelers with or without concealed gun carry permits because even though an individual may have a concealed carry permit, it does not allow for a firearm to be carried onto an airplane. The complete list of civil penalties is posted online.

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.

Firearms caught at the Eppley Airfield checkpoint 2015 to 2020

TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm posted on its website. Travelers should also contact their airline as they may have additional requirements for traveling with firearms and ammunition.