TSA Week in Review – 34 Firearms Discovered Last Week (28 Loaded)
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Fully-loaded firearm in carry-on bag at Kalamazoo (AZO)
34
Firearms Discovered This Week – Of the
34 firearms,
28 were loaded and nine had rounds chambered. See more photos at the bottom
of this post.
Remember: Pay close attention to the items in your bag and on your body. This week a known traveler, who is enrolled in TSA Pre✓™, was cited after it was discovered he had a concealed weapon when he walked through the metal detector. Travelers may be disqualified from TSA Pre✓™ expedited screening due to violations of security regulations (i.e., a firearm discovered at the checkpoint). Artfully Concealed Prohibited Items – It is important to examine your bags prior to traveling to ensure prohibited items are not inside. If a prohibited item is discovered in your bag or on your body, you could be cited and possibly arrested by local law enforcement. Inert Ordnance and Grenades etc. – We continue to find inert grenades and other weaponry on a weekly basis. Please keep in mind that if an item looks like a real bomb, grenade, mine, etc., it is prohibited. When these items are found at a checkpoint or in checked baggage, they can cause significant delays because the explosives detection professionals must resolve the alarm to determine the level of threat. Even if they are novelty items, you cannot bring them on a plane. Read here on why inert items cause problems.
Miscellaneous Prohibited Items
– In addition to all of the other prohibited items we find weekly,our officers
also regularly find firearm components, realistic replica firearms, bb
and pellet guns, airsoft guns, brass knuckles, ammunition, batons and
many other prohibited items too numerous to note. See some prohibited
items collected from airports nationwide (below):
Stun Guns –
12 stun guns were discovered this week in carry-on bags around the nation,
including:
You can go here for more details on how to properly travel with your firearms.
Firearm possession laws vary by state and locality. Travelers should familiarize
themselves with state and local firearm laws for each point of travel
prior to departure.
Unfortunately these sorts of occurrences are all too frequent which is why we talk about these finds. Sure, it's great to share the things that our officers are finding, but at the same time, each time we find a dangerous item, the line is slowed down and a passenger that likely had no ill intent ends up with a citation or in some cases is even arrested. The passenger can face a penalty as high as $7,500. This is a friendly reminder to please leave these items at home. Just because we find a prohibited item on an individual does not mean they had bad intentions, that's for the law enforcement officer to decide. In many cases, people simply forgot they had these items.
If you haven't seen it yet, make sure you check out our
TSA Blog Year in Review for 2013
. You can also check out
2011
&
2012
as well.
Ollie Cooperwood,
(
Filling in for the incomparable Bob Burns)
TSA Media Team
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