VIRGINIA, USA — TSA officers stopped three travelers from carrying handguns onto their flights Friday.
Although the incidents are not related, these cases mark the 35th, 36th, and 37th guns that TSA officers have confiscated at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Making 2023 as the most guns recovered in a single year at the airport.
The first incident was with a Rockville man who had a loaded 9mm handgun. Officials say the gun was loaded with 16 bullets and was packed with an additional gun magazine that was loaded with 17 additional bullets.
A few hours later TSA officers stopped a man from Georgia who reportedly had a 9mm handgun that wasn’t loaded.
“Today, one of our busiest days of the holiday season, we unfortunately had two passengers bring their firearms to our TSA security checkpoints. Our officers remained engaged and alert and caught these weapons before they could be brought to the aircraft,” said John Busch, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport.
Later Friday evening, a man from Strafford Virginia attempted to go through security with a loaded 9mm handgun.
All three guns were located in the passengers' carry-on bags and were detected by the X-ray machine.
Passengers are only permitted to travel with firearms in checked baggage. Firearms must be unloaded and then packed into a hard-sided locked case. The locked case should be taken to the airline check-in counter to be declared. TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm posted on its website.
Guns are not permitted through the security checkpoint, now each traveler is facing a financial civil penalty from TSA. The penalty for carrying weapons can range up to $15,000.
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.