First 2 Guns Of Year Seized At Pittsburgh International Airport

FINDLAY TOWNSHIP, PA — Transportation Security Administration officers intercepted the first two handguns of the new year at Pittsburgh International Airport on Tuesday.

In one incident, a man from Pittsburgh was stopped with a .32 caliber handgun loaded with six bullets. In another unrelated incident, a man from Baden, Pa., was stopped with a loaded .40 caliber gun. In both instances, police confiscated the weapons.

When the TSA officers detected the firearms, the checkpoint lanes came to a halt until the police responded and removed the carry-on bag from the X-ray machine. Meanwhile, other travelers who were in line were forced to wait until the incident was cleared, delaying them from getting through the checkpoint and to their gate.

“Our officers are good at their jobs, and they are focused on the mission,” Gerardo Spero, TSA’s Federal Security Director for Pennsylvania. “Travelers are responsible for the contents of their carry-on bags and these men face a stiff federal financial civil penalty that could cost them thousands of dollars. That’s a very expensive mistake to make."

Forty-two weapons were confiscated at the airport last year. The annual record is 44 set in 2023.