A Suffolk County, N.Y., man was stopped by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at LaGuardia Airport on Thursday, September 5, when they detected a loaded gun in the man’s carry-on bag. The 9mm handgun was loaded with nine bullets, including one in the chamber.
When the carry-on bag was identified by TSA as possibly containing a firearm, it was automatically diverted to a different conveyor belt to be held for law enforcement to remove and inspect. Police allowed the man, a resident of Halesite, N.Y., to return the firearm to his vehicle. He now faces a stiff financial civil penalty. Civil penalties for carrying weapons can reach a maximum of $15,000.
It was the ninth firearm that TSA officers have detected at the airport checkpoints so far this year.
“Here it is less than one week from the 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on our nation and it should be obvious to all travelers—especially those in the New York region–that no weapons are permitted through our security checkpoints and onto a flight. Travelers are responsible for the contents of their carry-on bags, to ensure that they have no prohibited or illegal items inside,” said Robert Duffy, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport. “It does not matter to us if someone has a concealed carry permit because regardless of that fact, it is never permissible to carry a firearm into the cabin of a plane.”