FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016

TSA Week in Review: February 26th - March 3rd

Fifty-six firearms were discovered this week in carry-on bags around the nation. Of the 56 firearms discovered, 51 were loaded and 15 had a round chambered. All of the firearms pictured were discovered last week. See a complete list below.
If an item looks like a real bomb, grenade, mine, etc., it is prohibited. When these items are found at a checkpoint or in checked baggage, they can cause significant delays because our explosives detection professionals must respond to resolve the alarm. Even if they are novelty items, you are prohibited from bringing them on board the aircraft. Two inert grenades were discovered this week in checked bags at Harlingen (HRL) and Waterloo (ALO). The grenade pictured here is from ALO.
A cane sword was detected in a passenger’s carry-on property at Las Vegas (LAS). All knives and swords are prohibited in carry-on bags, and concealed items can lead to arrest and fines.
A Southwest Florida International (RSW) passenger opted out of advanced imaging technology screening. While being escorted to private screening, the passenger removed a knife from her groin area.
The Katana swords were discovered in a carry-on bag at IAH, and the machete was found in a carry-on on bag at JFK.

In addition to all of the other prohibited items we find weekly in carry-on bags, our officers also regularly find firearm components, realistic replica firearms, bb and pellet guns, airsoft guns, brass knuckles, ammunition, batons, stun guns, small pocketknives and many other prohibited items too numerous to note.


You can travel with your firearms in checked baggage, but they must first be declared to the airline.

You can go here for more details on how to properly travel with your firearms.

Firearm possession laws vary by state and locality. Travelers should familiarize themselves with state and local firearm laws for each point of travel prior to departure.

Unfortunately these sorts of occurrences are all too frequent which is why we talk about these finds. Sure, it’s great to share the things that our officers are finding, but at the same time, each time we find a dangerous item, the line is slowed down and a passenger that likely had no ill intent ends up with a citation or in some cases is even arrested. The passenger can face a penalty as high as $11,000. This is a friendly reminder to please leave these items at home. Just because we find a prohibited item on an individual does not mean they had bad intentions; that's for the law enforcement officer to decide. In many cases, people simply forgot they had these items.

*In order to provide a timely weekly update, this data is compiled from a preliminary report. The year-end numbers will vary slightly from what is reported in the weekly updates. However, any monthly, midyear or end-of-year numbers TSA provides on this blog or elsewhere will be actual numbers and not estimates.

Read our 2015 Year in Review post!If you haven’t read them yet, make sure you check out our year in review posts for 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014.

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Bob Burns
TSA Social Media Team

Posted by Bob Burns (TSA Blog Team) at 3/04/2016 10:18:00 PM

http://blog.tsa.gov/2016/03/tsa-week...6th-march.html