3rd gun in a week found at Pittsburgh International Airport security checkpoint
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- After a Georgia man was caught with a loaded gun at the Pittsburgh International Airport, the TSA said officers are on track to stop a record number of firearms at security checkpoints -- and there are still three months left in the year.
In just the past week, officers with the Transportation Security Administration said they stopped three passengers from traveling with loaded guns at the Pittsburgh airport.
The TSA said the man from Georgia brought a 9mm handgun loaded with six bullets to a security checkpoint on Friday. Last Sunday, officers said a Mayport, Clarion County, woman was stopped with a loaded .38 caliber revolver in her belongings. Then on Tuesday, officers said they found a loaded .380 caliber handgun in a Troy, Bradford County, woman's backpack.
They all face stiff financial civil penalties, which, depending on the circumstances, can run as high as $15,000, the TSA said.
"There is absolutely no excuse for bringing a gun to one of our checkpoints," said Karen Keys-Turner, TSA's federal security director for the airport, in a news release. "Travelers are responsible for the items that they have in their possession. Firearms should never be brought to the security checkpoint in carry-on luggage. Responsible gun owners know this."
Keys-Turner said the Pittsburgh airport is on the "cusp" of setting an all-time high in the number of guns found at checkpoints in a single year, and there are still three full months left in 2023. So far this year, officers have found 33 guns at the airport. The previous record was 35 in 2019.
KDKA-TV asked why Pittsburgh's numbers keep tracking higher and higher. Pittsburgh's numbers so far this year match Philadelphia's airport in a city five times Pittsburgh's size.
"It really has a lot to do with the culture in a specific community," said TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein. "And you might think, for example, that JFK Airport in New York City -- which TSA officers screen more than 100,000 people a day -- you might think that that airport would see lots of firearms, but they typically only see about 10 in an entire year, because the laws for firearms in New York City are so strict."
All three people who brought guns to the Pittsburgh airport in the past week face stiff financial civil penalties, which, depending on the circumstances, can run as high as $15,000, the TSA said.
Not only could offenders could face stiff penalities up to $15,000, but county sheriffs could soon get referrals from federal authorities to review the offender's permit. and that could lead to a person getting their concealed carry revoked.
So far, Westmoreland County Sheriff James Albert publicly said he's open to reviewing permits to see if they should be revoked.
Allegheny County Sheriff Kevin Kraus says he's only open to it if the person caught with the weapon faces charges. A statement said, "absent any criminal charges or any other violation of the statute, no action will be taken to revoke a license to carry concealed permit."
Last year, more than 6,500 firearms were stopped at airport security checkpoints nationwide.
Passengers are allowed to travel with guns in checked baggage if they're unloaded, packed in a hard-sided locked case and declared at the check-in counter.