Man Who Brought Loaded Gun To Boston Logan Airport Arrested: TSA

BOSTON — A man is in police custody today after he packed a loaded-semi-automatic handgun in his carry-on and tried to make his way through security.

TSA officers arrested Stephen Buckley, 30, of Salem, N.H. at Boston Logan Airport when the 9mm handgun after an officer spotted it during the checkpoint X-ray screening in Jet Blue Terminal C. Police said it was loaded with seven bullets, including one in the chamber.

The officer contacted Massachusetts State Police who confiscated the gun and arrested the man on weapons charges. There was no impact to airport operations, according to a TSA release.

State Police said he was very apologetic and didn't realize he had had the gun with him.

"It's a relatively common thing," said a spokesperson for the State Police.

Monday’s gun catch marked the first gun caught at the airport checkpoint so far this calendar year. In 2018, TSA officers detected 21 firearms in carry-on bags at the airport and just 14 the year before that.

In total, 4,239 firearms were discovered in carry-on bags at checkpoints across the country last year, averaging about 11.6 firearms per day, approximately a 7 percent increase nationally in firearm discoveries from the total of 3,957 detected in 2017, according to the TSA.

Eighty-six percent of firearms detected at checkpoints last year were loaded and nearly 34 percent had a bullet in the chamber.

Travelers who bring firearms to the checkpoint can face criminal charges from law enforcement and civil penalties from TSA.

Even if a traveler has a concealed weapon permit, firearms are not permitted to be carried onto an airplane. Travelers with proper firearm permits can travel legally with their firearms in their checked bags.

TSA has the authority to assess civil penalties of up to $13,000 for weapons at the airport. A typical first offense for carrying a handgun into a checkpoint is $3,900.

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