TSA officers at Reagan National Airport intercepted this gun at a TSA security checkpoint on December 5. (TSA photo)
ARLINGTON, Va. – A Seattle woman was cited by police after Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers intercepted a loaded gun among her carry-on items on Thursday, December 5. The .380 caliber handgun was loaded with six bullets including one in the chamber.
When TSA officers intercepted the firearm in the woman’s backpack, they notified the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) Police who responded to the checkpoint, confiscated the gun and issued a citation to the woman. Additionally, she faces a Federal civil penalty for bringing a loaded firearm to a TSA checkpoint. The Federal penalty for carrying weapons can reach a maximum of $15,000.
The woman told officials that she forgot that she had her loaded gun with her.
“This was the 38th firearm that our officers have intercepted so far this year,” said John Busch, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport. “The most firearms that our team has detected in a single year was last year when we detected 39 guns. We do not want to meet or exceed that number. It is not a record we want to set. With that in mind, I’d like to encourage travelers who own firearms to pack them properly if they decide to transport them to their destination. To do so, place your unloaded firearm in a locked hard-sided case and take it to your airline check-in counter. The airline will ensure it is transported in the belly of the plane where nobody has access to it during a flight.”
TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm posted on its website.
TSA firearms caught at TSA checkpoints at Reagan National Airport, 2018 to 2024
| Year | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 (As of 12/5/24) |
| Guns caught at the Reagan National Airport checkpoints | 16 | 14 | 10 | 30 | 29 | 39 | 38 |
Bringing a firearm 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 gun into a checkpoint can stretch into thousands of dollars, depending on mitigating/aggravating circumstances. This applies to travelers with or without concealed gun carry permits because a concealed carry permit does not allow 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 will lose their TSA PreCheck privileges.
Unsure if an item should be packed in a carry-on bag, checked bag, either or neither? Download the free myTSA app, which has a handy “What can I bring?” feature that allows you to type in the item to find out if it can fly. Or ask on Twitter or Facebook Messenger at @AskTSA. Travelers may send a question by texting “Travel” to AskTSA (275-872).