Loaded gun confiscated at Pittsburgh International Airport checkpoint
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Transportation Security Administration officers at Pittsburgh International Airport confiscated a loaded gun from a passenger on Saturday.
The .380 caliber handgun was loaded with seven bullets, including one in the chamber, according to a TSA press release.
"There is no excuse for bringing a gun to the checkpoint," said Karen Keys-Turner, TSA's Federal Security Director for the airport. "Responsible gun owners do not bring their guns to a checkpoint. This was irresponsible on the part of this traveler during one of the busiest holiday travel periods of the year. Incidents such as this are dangerous; they disrupt our security screening operations and cause delays for other law-abiding travelers who want to get on their flight to travel during the Thanksgiving holiday period. This man now faces a Federal civil penalty that could cost him thousands of dollars."
TSA officials remind air travelers that passengers are permitted to travel with firearms only in checked baggage if they are unloaded and packed in a hard-sided locked case. The locked case should be taken to the airline check-in counter to be declared.
This latest confiscation brings the total number of guns caught at the airport's checkpoints to 40 so far in 2023, five more than the previous record of 35 firearms in 2019.