Elkins man arrested after TSA catches him with loaded gun at airport
He was stopped with a .380 caliber handgun loaded with seven bullets, including one in the chamber.
BRIDGEPORT, W.Va (WDTV) - An Elkins man was arrested by police after TSA officers caught him with a loaded handgun at the Syracuse Hancock International Airport security checkpoint Tuesday morning.
He was stopped with a .380 caliber handgun loaded with seven bullets, including one in the chamber.
A TSA officer spotted the handgun on the checkpoint X-ray machine’s monitor as the man’s belongings were being screened.
The handgun was found in his carry-on bag.
TSA immediately alerted the Syracuse Police, which responded to the checkpoint and confiscated the weapon.
The man told officials that he had driven to the area to work and when he went to catch a flight, he forgot that he had his gun with him.
“This was a very good catch on the part of our officers at a time when we are seeing an increase in travel volume,” said Bart R. Johnson, TSA Federal Security Director for Upstate New York. “It was a careless and now costly mistake on the part of the traveler as he faces a Federal financial penalty.”
Guns can be transported on a flight if they are unloaded, packed in a locked, hard-sided case and declared to the airline.
At the airport during the check-in process, a passenger needs to go to the airline ticket counter to declare the firearm, ammunition and any firearm parts.
The airline will be sure that the gun travels with checked baggage in the belly of the plane, never in the cabin of the plane.
Additionally, replica firearms also are prohibited in carry-on baggage and also must be transported in checked luggage.
TSA also recommends travelers check with their airline prior to their flight to ensure they comply with any airline-specific requirements for transporting firearms.
Civil penalties for bringing a handgun into a checkpoint can stretch into thousands of dollars, depending on mitigating circumstances.
Among the factors TSA considers when determining the civil penalty amount include whether the firearm was loaded and whether there was accessible ammunition.
Nationwide, TSA officers detected 5,972 firearms on passengers or their carry-on bags at checkpoints last year; approximately 86 percent were loaded.
Copyright 2022 WDTV. All rights reserved.
