VA Woman Tries To Bring Handgun Onto Flight At Reagan National Airport

Article updated at 2:15 p.m. on Friday to report woman caught with handgun is from Springfield, Virginia.

ARLINGTON, VA — A Virginia woman was stopped by Transportation Security Administration officers at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday as she tried to bring a loaded handgun onto a flight.

The 9mm handgun was loaded with six bullets and was packed in a carry-on bag that the woman brought to the security checkpoint, the TSA said.

It was the 33rd gun that TSA officers at Reagan National Airport have detected at one of the airport's checkpoints so far this year, which is the most guns caught in a single year.

The gun was caught as the woman entered the security checkpoint. The X-ray unit alerted the TSA to take a closer look inside the carry-on bag. Police confiscated the gun and cited the woman, Michelle Bennett, 50, of Springfield on a weapons charge, according to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police.

"Responsible gun owners do not bring their guns to a checkpoint," John Busch, TSA’s federal security director for Reagan National Airport, said in a statement.

Reagan National Airport estimated it screened about 6,000 to 7,000 more travelers on Wednesday than it does on an average day because it was the day before Thanksgiving.

“This was irresponsible on the part of this traveler on one of the busiest days of the year, plain and simple,” Busch said.