This handgun was stopped at the Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport checkpoint by a security officer on Feb. 7. (TSA photo)
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – An Arizona man was stopped by security officers at the Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport checkpoint with a loaded handgun yesterday, Monday, Feb. 7.
The 9mm gun was loaded with 16 bullets, including one in the chamber. It was detected as the man was entering the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint with his carry-on items. Security officers spotted the gun among the man’s carry-on items when it entered the X-ray unit and notified the police, who confiscated the weapon.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – An Arizona man was stopped by security officers at the Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport checkpoint with a loaded handgun yesterday, Monday, Feb. 7.
The 9mm gun was loaded with 16 bullets, including one in the chamber. It was detected as the man was entering the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint with his carry-on items. Security officers spotted the gun among the man’s carry-on items when it entered the X-ray unit and notified the police, who confiscated the weapon.
“This was a great catch by the security team at Rochester,” said Bart R. Johnson, TSA’s Federal Security Director for Upstate New York. “Travelers who make the careless mistake of carrying a loaded gun to the security checkpoint create a significant and unnecessary risk to security officers and the public,” he said. “Now this man faces a stiff federal financial civil penalty that could cost him thousands of dollars.”
Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms only in checked baggage if they are properly packaged and declared at their airline ticket counter. TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm posted on its website.
Bringing a gun to an airport checkpoint carries a federal civil penalty because 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. Additionally, if a traveler with a gun is a member of TSA PreCheck®, that individual may lose their TSA PreCheck privileges.
Firearm possession laws vary by state and locality and passengers should do their homework to make sure that they are not violating any local firearm laws. Travelers should also contact their airline as they may have additional requirements for traveling with firearms and ammunition.
Nationwide, TSA officers detected 5,972 firearms on passengers or their carry-on bags at checkpoints last year. Of the guns caught by TSA in 2022, about 86 percent were loaded.