3rd gun found in 5 days on passengers at Pittsburgh International Airport
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Transportation Security Administration agents caught a Texas man with a handgun at Pittsburgh International Airport on Saturday, which was the third gun found on passengers in five days.
Last Tuesday, TSA agents stopped two passengers with guns at an airport checkpoint.
“What would make someone think they could bring a loaded gun onto an airport is beyond the imagination,” said Lisa Farbstein, TSA spokeswoman.
The Texas man was carrying a loaded .45-caliber handgun.
The firearm was found in the man’s backpack during passenger screening, said Allegheny County Police Superintendent Coleman McDonough.
The Texas man had a valid permit for the firearm, so police did not press charges. The weapon was seized and the matter referred to federal authorities, McDonough said.
TSA can levy a civil penalty to travelers who bring guns or gun parts to a checkpoint: A typical first offense for carrying a loaded handgun to a checkpoint is $4,100 and can go as high as $13,669.
The most common excuse passengers have for carrying a gun illegally into an airport is that they forgot they were carrying a loaded gun or that their spouse packed it in their suitcase and they didn’t know, Farbstein said.
“TSA is happy to help you transport your firearm,” she said. “You need to have it unloaded and in the belly of the plane.”
Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms in checked baggage if they are properly packaged and declared at their airline ticket counter.
The rate of such gun violations has tripled when comparing July 2019 and 2020, Farbstein said. In July 2019, about 5 guns per million passengers were found, while about 15 guns per million passengers were found this past July, she said.
As of Tuesday, TSA found 17 guns on passengers so far this year at the Pittsburgh International Airport, Farbstein said.
The rate of passengers found with guns at the Pittsburgh International Airport is unknown because the TSA doesn’t have the passenger volume for Pittsburgh, she said.
Nationwide last year, more than 4,000 firearms were discovered in carry-on bags at checkpoints across the country, averaging about 12 firearms per day.