Police arrest Ohio man after TSA detects handgun at Pittsburgh International Airport security checkpoint

PITTSBURGH –  Transportation Security Administration officers at Pittsburgh International Airport continue to remain vigilant during the COVID-19 pandemic and stopped an Ohio man from bringing a handgun loaded with seven bullets on an airplane on Saturday, July 11.

A TSA officer spotted the .32-caliber handgun on the checkpoint X-ray machine’s monitor. They detected it in his carry-on bag. TSA contacted the Allegheny County Police, which responded to the checkpoint, and confiscated the handgun.

Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms in checked baggage if they are properly packaged and declared at their airline ticket 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.

A typical first offense for carrying a handgun into a checkpoint is $4,100. 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 here: https://www.tsa.gov/travel/civil-enforcement.

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.

TSA Firearms Caught at the Pittsburgh International Airport checkpoint, 2017 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.