Yorktown man cited by police after trying to bring loaded gun onto plane at RIC

A Yorktown man was cited by the police after Transportation Security Administration officers at Richmond International Airport caught him with a loaded handgun in his carry-on bag. The 9 mm handgun was loaded with 12 bullets, including one in the chamber.

It was the third gun caught at the airport so far this month and the ninth handgun that TSA officers have caught at the security checkpoint this year, following 20 such occurrences last year.

TSA officers stopped the man when his carry-on bag triggered an alarm in the security checkpoint X-ray unit. Upon spotting the weapon, TSA alerted airport police, who responded to the checkpoint, confiscated the handgun and cited the man on a weapons violation.

“In addition to being cited by the police, this individual also is facing a stiff federal financial civil penalty, which could run into the thousands of dollars,” said Robin “Chuck” Burke, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport. “Airports are crowded with travel volume as high as it has been since the start of the pandemic and bringing guns and other prohibited items to a security checkpoint slows down the line for everyone.”

Penalties apply to people with or without concealed gun carry permits, because those permits do not allow firearms to be brought onto planes.

A complete list of civil penalties is posted online.

TSA PreCheck members who incur the penalties also will lose their PreCheck privileges.

TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm posted on its website.  Travelers also should contact their airlines, which may have additional requirements for traveling with firearms and ammunition.