TSA seizes 5 guns in 4 days at Detroit Metro Airport
(CBS DETROIT) - In just four days, Transportation Security Administration officers prevented five handguns from being carried onto airplanes at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
Three of those guns were seized in less than 90 minutes on Friday, March 31. So far, in 2023, 28 firearms have been detected at Detroit Metro Airport, compared to 100 guns in all of 2022. Ninety-four firearms were seized from DTW in 2021.
"Although it's extremely troubling that so many passengers continue to make this careless, expensive mistake, the general public should feel safer knowing that the TSA officers in Detroit continue to perform their jobs exceptionally well and are stopping these firearms from going past the checkpoint," said Michigan TSA Acting Federal Security Director Bill Byrne in a press release. "When dangerous items such as loaded guns are brought to a security checkpoint, it represents a serious security and safety concern."
TSA officials say the average penalty for bringing weapons to the airport has increased and can reach nearly $15,000, depending on the circumstances.
Passengers can travel with firearms in checked baggage, but they must be unloaded, packed separately from ammunition in a locked case and declared at the airline check-in counter.
More information can be found on the TSA website.