TSA says it stopped Ohio man from boarding plane in Pittsburgh with 9mm handgun
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Transportation Security Administration officers at Pittsburgh International Airport stopped an Ohio man from bringing a loaded handgun onto a flight Friday, a record-setting day as travelers flew ahead of the Independence Day holiday.
Officers at the Findlay-based airport detected the 9mm handgun in the Lima, Ohio, man’s carry-on backpack as he passed through the checkpoint X-ray machine, TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein said Monday. It was the sixth gun found by authorities at Pittsburgh International in June.
Airport police came to the checkpoint and confiscated the weapon before arresting the man, Farbstein said.
The man, who TSA did not identify, faces a federal financial civil penalty — potentially as high as $15,000, depending on the circumstances, she said.
TSA officers screened 2,884,683 travelers across the country on Friday, marking the highest checkpoint volume since TSA’s inception two decades ago.
“Our officers are doing a tremendous job staying vigilant while screening travelers during this peak period,” said Karen Keys-Turner, TSA’s federal security director for the airport. “Carrying firearms to security checkpoints slows down the security lines for everyone. If you’re flying this summer, it is vitally important to know that the items you have in your carry-on bag are allowed through our security checkpoints.”
Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms only in their checked baggage, as long as the weapons are unloaded and packed in a hard-sided locked case, Farbstein said. The locked case should be taken to the airline check-in counter to be declared.
Friday’s gun was the 21st firearm caught at airport checkpoints this year, Farbstein said. The TSA caught 26 guns at the airport in 2022, and 32 guns in 2021.
Nationwide, TSA has prevented more than 3,000 guns from getting through security checkpoints in 2023, Farbstein said. Last year, 6,542 firearms were caught at security checkpoints nationwide.