A South Carolina man was cited by police after Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) intercepted a firearm among the man’s carry-on items on Wednesday, July 10. The .40 caliber weapon was loaded with eight bullets, including one in the chamber. Two gun magazines containing 12 total bullets also were detected alongside the firearm.
The man told officials that he forgot that he had his loaded gun with him.
The weapon was caught as the man entered the security checkpoint and the X-ray unit alerted on his carry-on bag. TSA officers identified the firearm inside the man’s carry-on bag and notified the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police who confiscated the firearm and cited the man on a weapons charge.
“Telling us that you forgot that you were carrying a loaded gun is inexcusable. Travelers need to pay more attention to the items that they have inside their carry-on bags,” said Scott T. Johnson, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport. “Travelers are responsible for the contents of their carry-on bags. In addition, responsible gun owners know where their firearms are at all times and they know not to bring them to a security checkpoint. Bringing guns to checkpoints is a serious security violation.”
Johnson praised the TSA officers for their good catch. “This is the busiest period of travel that our agency has seen and I commend our officers for remaining vigilant and staying focused on the mission during this busy time,” he said.
In addition to the citation by airport police, this individual now faces a stiff financial civil penalty. Civil penalties for carrying weapons can reach a maximum of $15,000. This even applies to travelers with concealed carry permits or are enrolled in the TSA PreCheck® program, who will lose their TSA PreCheck privileges if they bring a gun to a checkpoint.