Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers intercepted two handguns in carry-on bags at Newark Liberty International Airport on Saturday, March 15. The incidents were not related.
A Mountain Lakes, N.J., man was stopped with a 9mm handgun loaded with four bullets. He told officials that he forgot that he had his gun with him. Later the same day, a Pearl River, N.Y., man was stopped when TSA detected his 9mm handgun loaded with six bullets. Both individuals had firearm permits and so police did not cite or arrest either individual. However, the guns were not permitted through the checkpoint.
“Our officers are good at their job, and they are focused on the mission,” said Thomas Carter, TSA’s Federal Security Director for New Jersey. “Travelers are responsible for the contents of their carry-on bags. Each of these individuals face a federal financial civil penalty. That could have been avoided had they properly packed their guns for a flight. The firearms need to be unloaded, packed in a locked hard-sided case and declared at their airline check-in counter. The airline representative then makes sure that the gun is transported in the belly of the plane so that nobody has access to it during a flight.”
The original announcement can be found here.