Delaware man arrested by police after TSA catches him with loaded handgun at BWI Airport checkpoint

Local Press Release
Monday, February 24, 2020
TSA officers at BWI detected this handgun in a traveler’s carry-on bag on Feb. 21. (TSA photo)

LINTHICUM, Md. – A Sussex County, Delaware, man was arrested after Transportation Security Administration officers at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) caught him with a .380 caliber handgun loaded with four bullets on Friday, Feb. 21.

A TSA officer spotted the gun in the man’s carry-on bag while it was inside the checkpoint X-ray machine. The Maryland Transportation Authority Police were notified, arrived at the checkpoint, confiscated the firearm and detained the man, a resident of Lincoln, Delaware, for questioning before arresting him on weapons charges. He told officials that he forgot that he had his loaded gun with him.

Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms in checked baggage if they are properly packaged and declared at their airline check-in counter. Firearms must be unloaded, packed in a hard-sided case, locked, and packed separately from ammunition. Firearm possession laws vary by state and locality.

Guns caught at BWI Airport 2016 to 2020

Year

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

(As of 1-23-20)

Guns caught at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport checkpoints

 24

 26

 22

27

4

A typical first offense for carrying a handgun into a checkpoint is $4,100. This applies to travelers with or without concealed gun carry permits because even though an individual may have a concealed carry permit, it does not allow for a firearm to be carried onto an airplane. The complete list of civil penalties is posted online here: https://www.tsa.gov/travel/civil-enforcement.

Nationwide last year, 4,432 firearms were discovered in carry-on bags at checkpoints across the country, averaging about 12.1 firearms per day, approximately a 5% increase nationally in firearm discoveries from the total of 4,239 detected in 2018. Eighty-seven percent of firearms detected at checkpoints last year were loaded.

A typical first offense for carrying a handgun into a checkpoint is $4,100. This applies to travelers with or without concealed gun carry permits because even though an individual may have a concealed carry permit, it does not allow for a firearm to be carried onto an airplane. The complete list of civil penalties is posted online here: https://www.tsa.gov/travel/civil-enforcement.

TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm posted on its website. Travelers should also contact their airline as they may have additional requirements for traveling with firearms and ammunition.

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