A man from Loudoun County, Virginia, was stopped by Transportation Security Administration agents before bringing a loaded handgun onto a flight Thursday at Dulles International Airport.
TSA officials notified the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority police who confiscated the gun and cited the man on a weapons charge.
The 9mm gun was loaded with two bullets, TSA said in a news release.
The weapon was caught at the security checkpoint when the X-ray unit alerted on the man’s carry-on bag, according to TSA. The passenger told officials that he simply forgot to remove his firearm from his bag before his flight.
Last month, TSA announced it would be raising the fine for those caught with a gun at security checkpoints to $14,950 after intercepting a record number of firearms in 2022.
“The year is still in its infancy and at this point I ask every owner of a firearm to commit to making a new year’s resolution to pack their weapon properly for a flight if they want to travel with it,” said Scott T. Johnson, TSA’s federal security director for the airport.
Two hatchets labeled “DEATH” and “TWIN” were found Friday under the lining of a carry-on bag at a security checkpoint at Reagan National Airport. The citation for axes, hatchets and knives can range from $390 to $2,250, according to TSA.
Last month, Dulles Airport also made it onto TSA’s list of most unusual finds at checkpoints at #8 for two electric cattle prods packed alongside a guitar inside a carry-on guitar case.
Passengers who aren’t sure what they can and cannot bring in a carry-on luggage through a security checkpoint can visit TSA’s website for rules and regulations or tweet @AskTSA.
