RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — A Yorktown man was cited by police after TSA officers prevented him from carrying a loaded gun onto a flight at Richmond International Airport on Monday, June 27.
TSA officers stopped the man when his carry-on bag triggered an alarm at the security checkpoint X-ray unit. According to the TSA, officers identified a 9mm caliber handgun.
Upon identifying the weapon, the TSA officers alerted 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.”
This is the ninth handgun that TSA officers have detected at Richmond International Airport security checkpoints so far this year.
The TSA wants to remind travelers that bringing firearms onto a flight is illegal, regardless of concealed carry permits. Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms only in checked baggage if they are properly packaged and declared at the airline ticket counter. For more information on civil penalties for unauthorized firearms and how to correctly travel with them, visit the TSA’s website here.
Firearm possession laws vary by state and locality and passengers should do their homework to make sure that they are not violating any local firearm laws. Travelers should also contact their airline as they may have additional requirements for traveling with firearms and ammunition.
TSA officers detected 5,972 firearms at airport security checkpoints nationwide in 2021. Eighty-six percent of those guns were loaded.