2nd Loaded Handgun Stopped At Washington Dulles Airport In 3 Days: TSA

DULLES, VA — A Pennsylvania man was stopped from bringing a loaded handgun onto a flight leaving Washington Dulles International Airport last Thursday, according to the Transportation Security Administration. It was the second loaded handgun TSA detected in the same at one of the airport's security checkpoints.

On Thursday, TSA officers were alerted by a checkpoint X-ray unit that the carry-on bag of a traveller from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania contained a weapon.

TSA contacted the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police, who confiscated the 9 mm handgun loaded with 15 bullets and cited the man on a weapons charge. The man, who faces a stiff financial civil penalty of up to $15,000, told officials that he had forgotten that he had the gun in his bag.

Related: Loaded Handgun Found In Carry-On Bag By TSA Officers At VA Airport

On the previous Monday, TSA officers detained a Hagerstown, Maryland man after a checkpoint X-ray unit detected a handgun in his carry-on bag. The 9mm handgun was loaded with 15 bullets, including one in the chamber, according to the TSA. An additional 12 bullets were also found packed next to the handgun. Police confiscated the handgun and cited the Maryland man on a weapons charge.

“Two guns caught in a three-day span says a lot about the continued vigilance of our TSA officers,” said Scott T. Johnson, TSA’s federal security director for the airport. “Claiming that you forgot that you had a loaded gun with you is a tragic accident waiting to happen. There is no excuse for bringing a gun to the checkpoint. Responsible gun owners do not bring their guns to a checkpoint.”

People are allowed to travel with their handguns, but the handguns must be properly stored in their checked baggage and declared at check-in. In addition, handguns must be stored unloaded in a hard-locked case, with ammunition stored separately. The hard-locked case must be brought to the airline check-in window, where it will be checked with the traveler's baggage. TSA has more information available online for people traveling with firearms.

From 2016-2023, TSA officers stopped 132 weapons from being carried onto flights leaving Dulles Airport, including 23 this year to date.