An Adams County man was detained at Harrisburg International Airport Monday after he tried to bring a loaded gun onto the plane in his carry-on bag, officials said.
The man, whose name and age were not provided, lives in East Berlin and had a .25-caliber handgun loaded with six bullets along with two boxes of ammunition with his carry-on items, according to a news release from the Transportation Security Administration.
A security officer spotted the gun and ammunition in the checkpoint X-ray machine, and alerted police who confiscated the gun and ammunition and detained the man for questioning.
It was the fifth gun that TSA officers have detected at the airport checkpoint so far this year, according to the news release.
“Bringing a loaded gun to a security checkpoint is a serious offense,” said Karen Keys-Turner, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport. “It was a busy holiday of travel and bringing a loaded gun to the airport is an accident waiting to happen. Travelers should know better.”
Keys-Turner said guns have been prohibited from being carried onto planes for decades before TSA even existed.
“So it should be no surprise when someone is stopped at our checkpoint, has their weapon confiscated by police and is then heavily fined by TSA,” she said.
The incident could result in a civil penalty of up to $13,900, depending on mitigating or aggravating circumstances.
Travelers caught with guns at checkpoints can be issued fines even if they have a concealed carry permit as that does not apply to
The fine applies to travelers with or without concealed gun carry. If a traveler found with a gun is a member of TSA PreCheck®, that person will lose their TSA PreCheck privileges.
In addition to putting people in danger, travelers who bring guns to checkpoints delay other travelers as the checkpoint lane screeches to a halt while police resolve the incident, according to the news release.
Travelers are allowed to transport their firearms in their checked baggage if they are properly packed and declared at their airline ticket counter to be transported in the belly of the plane.
Nationwide, TSA officers detected 5,972 firearms on passengers or their carry-on bags at checkpoints last year. Of the guns caught by TSA in 2022, about 86 percent were loaded, according to the news release.
READ MORE:
Bicyclist riding home from work died after crash with driver making U-turn in Harrisburg
Ad Choices