TSA officers at BWI detected this loaded handgun in a traveler’s carry-on bag on March 17. (TSA photo)
LINTHICUM, Md. – Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) caught a man with a .357 caliber handgun loaded with 13 bullets at the checkpoint on Wednesday, March 17. It was the fourth gun that TSA officers have caught at the airport within the last week. They caught one gun on March 11 and two guns on March 12.
A TSA officer spotted Wednesday’s handgun in the man’s carry-on bag while it was inside the checkpoint X-ray machine. TSA immediately alerted the Maryland Transportation Authority Police, who arrived at the checkpoint, confiscated the firearm and detained the man, a resident of Fredericksburg, Virginia, for questioning before arresting him on weapons charges. He said that he forgot that he had his loaded gun with him. He now faces a stiff Federal financial penalty.
“Claiming that you forgot that you had a gun with you is inexcusable,” said Andrea R. Mishoe, TSA’s Federal Security Director for Maryland. “If you own a firearm, you need to know where it is at all times—especially when it’s loaded. Please do not come to my airport checkpoints with loaded guns. You will incur a substantial civil penalty from the federal government and be arrested. We will hold you accountable for your failure to follow the mandated guidelines. Guns are not allowed to be carried onto airplanes. Period.”
TSA reserves the right to issue a civil penalty to travelers who have guns and gun parts with them at a checkpoint. Civil penalties for bringing a handgun into a checkpoint can stretch into thousands of dollars, depending on mitigating circumstances. 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. If a traveler with a gun is a member of TSA PreCheck®, that individual will lose their TSA PreCheck privileges.
When an individual shows up at a checkpoint with a firearm, the checkpoint lane comes to a standstill until the police resolve the incident. Guns at checkpoints can delay travelers from getting to their gates.
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.
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.
Guns caught at BWI Airport checkpoints 2016 to 2021
|
Year |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020* |
2021* |
|
Guns caught at BWI |
24 |
26 |
22 |
27 |
13 |
4 |
*Significantly fewer travelers due to the pandemic.
Nationwide, TSA officers detected 3,257 firearms on passengers or their carry-on bags at checkpoints last year, although the total number of passengers screened at airport checkpoints across the country fell by 500 million compared to 2019 due to the pandemic. The result was that twice as many firearms per million passengers screened were detected at checkpoints in 2020 compared to 2019. In 2020, TSA caught approximately 10 firearms per million passengers as compared to about five firearms per million passengers in 2019. Of the guns caught by TSA in 2020, about 83 percent were loaded.