A man was arrested by police at John F. Kennedy International Airport on June 29 after Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers detected a loaded handgun in his backpack as he entered a security checkpoint. The man, a resident of Queens, N.Y., worked in the airport at one of the retail shops.
TSA secured the .45 caliber handgun which was loaded with four bullets and was confiscated by Port Authority Police. Upon the man’s arrest, his airport security ID badge was also confiscated. The badge is required of individuals who work on the secure side of the airport; without it, the man is no longer able to work there.
In addition to his arrest, the man also faces a stiff federal financial penalty. Federal penalties can reach as high as $15,000 for bringing a weapon to an airport checkpoint, depending on the circumstances.
“This was a good catch on the part of our TSA officers,” said John Essig, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport. “We are seeing a record high number of travelers because we are within the July 4th travel period, and this is no time to be carrying prohibited or illegal items. It’s busy out there and when someone brings a prohibited or illegal item such as a firearm to an airport security checkpoint, it slows things down for everyone else.”
It was the sixth firearm that TSA officers have detected at the airport’s checkpoints so far this year. In 2022, seven guns were removed from carry-on bags at the airport.
Last year, 6,542 firearms were caught at 262 out of 430 airport security checkpoints nationwide. Eighty-eight percent of those guns were loaded.
