Dec. 27 (UPI) — The TSA said Tuesday that a woman passenger with a loaded handgun was stopped before boarding a flight at Reagan Washington National Airport. The gun was detected in her carry-on items.
“Bringing a gun to an airport security checkpoint was no way to enter the holiday,” said TSA’s John Busch in a statement. “There’s naughty and there’s nice at this time of year and the nice way to transport your firearm is to make sure it is unloaded, locked in a hard-sided case and declared at your airline check-in counter.”
The Bethesda, Md., resident was not publicly identified. She faces a civil penalty of up to $15,000.
The woman’s 9mm handgun was loaded with six bullets, according to the TSA. An X-ray unit spotted the gun inside a carry-on bag. Washington Metro Police confiscated it and cited the woman.
Guns are not permitted through the security checkpoints at airports. This was the 39th gun TSA agents found at airport checkpoints in 2023, the most guns in a single year.
Thirty guns were detected at airport checkpoints in 2021.
The civil penalties for trying to board a flight with a gun applies to passengers with or without concealed carry gun permits.
Nationwide, 6,542 firearms were found last year at airport security checkpoints. For 2023, more than 6,000 guns were stopped by TSA officers.
A man was stopped at La Guardia Airport with a bullet-filled diaper Dec. 21. The diaper was inside his carry-on luggage and was discovered by an X-ray unit at a TSA checkpoint.
