RIC passenger arrested after trying to board plane with loaded gun

Transportation Security Administration officers at Richmond International Airport stopped a man from bringing a loaded gun onto an airplane April 18. It was the fourth time this year a traveler was caught at the airport trying to bring a weapon onto a flight.

The latest incident involved a Southampton County, Virginia, man who had a a .45-caliber handgun loaded with six bullets among his carry-on items at the security checkpoint.

TSA alerted airport police, who responded to the checkpoint, confiscated the handgun and arrested the man, a resident of Capron, Virginia, on a weapons charge. The man told officials that it was his wife’s gun and that he didn’t know that he had it with him. In addition to his arrest, he now faces a federal financial civil penalty.

TSA reserves the right to issue a civil penalty to travelers who have guns and gun parts with them at a checkpoint. Civil penalties for bringing a handgun into a checkpoint can stretch into thousands of dollars, depending upon the circumstances. Penalties apply to travelers with or without concealed gun carry permits, because such permits do not allow firearms to be carried onto an airplane. If a traveler with a gun is a member of TSA PreCheck, that person will lose PreCheck privileges.

Last year, 22 people were stopped at RIC trying to bring guns onto planes.