TSA officers confiscate two more guns at Pittsburgh International Airport, adding to a record-setting year
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Transportation Security Administration agents at the Pittsburgh International Airport have seen an increase in guns at the airport this year and on Thursday, they confiscated two more.
They were the fourth and fifth guns found at a security checkpoint in the last eight days.
"If you own a firearm and plan to fly, I urge you to search each item that you have packed in your messenger bag, knapsack, roller bag, handbag, or any other bag that you plan to carry onto the plane, "said Karen Keys-Turner, TSA's Federal Security Director for the airport. "We are seeing too many travelers bringing guns to our checkpoints. We are seeing people both with and without gun permits showing up with their firearms. Even if you have a permit to carry, you cannot bring it through a checkpoint and onto a plane."
On Thursday, a man from Mississippi was found to have a 9mm handgun along with a loaded gun magazine packed with it. County police took the gun and arrested the man, learning he did not have a gun permit.
Just hours later, a man from Imperial, Pa., was caught with a .380 caliber handgun, also packed along with a loaded magazine.
He was not taken into custody because he did have a permit but police did confiscate the weapon.
"Our officers are vigilant and yesterday they prevented two deadly weapons from getting onto an airplane," Keys-Turner said. "People who bring their guns to our checkpoints create a potentially dangerous situation through their own actions. Responsible gun owners know where their guns are and they know not to bring them to a checkpoint."
Both men now face serious financial penalties for bringing their weapons to the airport, and Keys-Turner said those penalties could be in the thousands of dollars.
More than 6,000 firearms were confiscated across the United States in 2022 and through the first nine months of 2023, more than 5,000 guns have been confiscated.
Here in Pittsburgh, 26 were confiscated in 2022 and already in 2023, 38 have been confiscated, putting Pittsburgh as part of the trend of an increase in guns being found at the airport.
TSA is reminding travelers that they are only permitted to travel with firearms if they are in checked baggage, unloaded, and packed in a hard-sided locked case, which also has to be taken to the airline check-in counter to be declared.
Full instructions on how to travel with a firearm can be found on the TSA website at this link.