WASHINGTON — A D.C. man is in police custody after he tried to bring a loaded handgun through security at a local airport.
On Thursday, Transportation Security Administration officers arrested a man who tried to carry a loaded .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun past a security checkpoint at Baltimore Washington International-Thurgood Marshal Airport.
Using the X-ray machines at the checkpoint, TSA officers detected the handgun, loaded with eight rounds, among the man’s carry-on items.
The incident is the sixth gun that TSA officers have detected at BWI in 2015. It is the second gun detection in August.
In 2014, TSA officered detected 14 guns at BWI, the agency says.
The man, who was arrested on weapons charges, had a ticket to fly to San Francisco.
Guns, parts of guns and ammunition are not permitted in carry-on bags, but they can be transported in checked bags if they are unloaded, properly packed and declared to the airline.
Travelers who bring firearms to the checkpoint are subject to possible criminal charges and civil penalties from TSA of up to $11,000.
