WASHINGTON — A man with a loaded gun was stopped at a checkpoint at Reagan National Airport Friday.
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials said the man had a 9 mm handgun loaded with seven bullets in his carry-on bag, in addition to six rifle rounds.
TSA officers immediately called the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police and detained the man for questioning when they arrived at the checkpoint.
After initially confiscating the firearm, police eventually allowed the man to check the gun with the airline, unloaded and in a locked case.
According to Virginia state law, passengers can travel with firearms in checked baggage if they are properly packaged and declared. TSA officials say guns must be unloaded, packed in a hard-sided case, locked and separated from ammunition. Firearm possession laws vary by state and locality.
Travelers who bring guns to the checkpoint are subject to possible criminal charges, even if they have permits.
This marks the 11th handgun caught at the airport so far this year. In 2017, TSA officers caught 13 guns at the checkpoints.
TSA officials said, across the country, one in 200,000 travelers brought guns to checkpoints in 2017, with the majority of them loaded. Of those guns caught at checkpoints, 77 percent were carried by men.
