TSA officials stop woman with gun at Richmond airport
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Transportation Security Administration officers stopped an Arizona woman from carrying a 9 mm handgun onto an airplane at Richmond International Airport July 27. The gun was not loaded.
TSA officials immediately alerted the airport police, who responded to the checkpoint, confiscated the handgun and detained the woman for questioning before issuing her two summons with a court date as a result of the incident.
It was the 12th time this year a gun was stopped at a checkpoint at RIC; it happened a total of 14 times each of the past two years.
“Even though there have been many fewer passengers as a result of the pandemic, we continue to see them bringing handguns to the checkpoint,” said TSA Federal Security Director for Richmond International Airport Chuck Burke.
Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms in checked baggage if they are properly packaged and declared at the airline check-in counter. Firearms must be unloaded, packed in a hard-sided case, locked and packed separately from ammunition. Firearm possession laws vary by state and locality. Travelers should check for firearm laws in the jurisdictions they are flying to and from.
Nationwide last year, 4,432 firearms were discovered in carry-on bags at checkpoints across the country, averaging about 12.1 firearms per day, approximately a 5% increase nationally in firearm discoveries from the total of 4,239 detected in 2018. Eighty-seven percent of firearms detected at checkpoints last year were loaded.
Anyone who brings firearms to a security checkpoint is subject to possible criminal charges from law enforcement. Even travelers with concealed firearm permits are not allowed to bring guns onto airplanes in their carry-on bags. TSA has the authority to assess financial civil penalties of up to $13,333 for weapons violations. TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm posted on its website, http://www.tsa.gov. Travelers also should contact their airlines, which may have additional requirements for traveling with firearms and ammunition.
