FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2013

TSA Week in Review – 37 Firearms Discovered This Week – 30 Loaded

Loaded Firearm (MDW)

37 Firearms Discovered This Week – Of the 37 firearms, 30 were loaded and 12 had rounds chambered. See a complete list and more photos at the bottom of this post.

EOD Training Kit (ORF)
Inert Grenade (SEA)
Inert Ordnance and Grenades etc. - We continue to find inert hand grenades and other weaponry on a weekly basis. Please keep in mind that if an item looks like a realistic bomb, grenade, mine, etc., it is prohibited. When these items are found at a checkpoint or in checked baggage, they can cause significant delays in checkpoint screening. While they may be novelty items, you cannot bring them on a plane. Read here on why inert items cause problems.




  • An inert Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) training kit was discovered at Norfolk (ORF).
  • An inert grenade was discovered in a carry-on bag at Seattle (SEA).





Stun Gun Disguised To Look Like A Cell Phone (JAN)
Stun Guns – 13 stun guns were discovered this week in carry-on bags around the nation. Two were discovered at Atlanta (ATL), another two were found at Las Vegas (LAS), and the rest were discovered at Amarillo (AMA), Charlotte (CLT), Denver (DEN), Jackson (JAN), New York LaGuardia (LGA), Myrtle Beach (MYR), Portland (PDX), Phoenix (PHX), and Palm Springs (PSP).


Artfully Concealed Prohibited Items – It’s important to examine your bags prior to traveling to ensure no prohibited items are inside. If a prohibited item is discovered in your bag or on your body, you could be cited and quite possibly arrested by local law enforcement. Here are a few examples from this week where prohibited items were found by our officers in strange places.


  • A knife was discovered concealed inside a supplement bottle at Nashville (BNA).


Miscellaneous Prohibited Items - In addition to all of the other prohibited items we find weekly, our officers also regularly find firearm components, realistic replica firearms, bb and pellet guns, Airsoft guns, brass knuckles, ammunition, batons, and a lot of sharp pointy things…


Knives Discovered At (Top to Bottom) DEN, SAN, LAX
Some Of The Knives Discovered Last Week At EWR

Ammunition – When packed properly, ammunition can be transported in your checked luggage, but it is never permissible to pack ammo in your carry-on bag.


Ammunition (CLT)



Airsoft Guns – An Airsoft gun was discovered in a carry-on bag this week at Lubbock (LBB). Airsoft guns are prohibited in carry-on bags, but allowed in checked baggage. Read this post for more information: TSA Travel Tips Tuesday: Traveling With Airsoft Guns


Airsoft Gun (LBB)
Firearms Discovered This Week in Carry-On Bags


Left to Right - Top to Bottom: Firearms Discovered At PDX, CHS, DAL, GSP, SAT, SRQ



*In order to provide a timely weekly update, I compile my data from a preliminary report. The year-end numbers will vary slightly (increase) from what I report in the weekly updates. However, any monthly, midyear, or end-of-year numbers TSA provides on this blog or elsewhere will not be estimates.

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 throughput 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$7,500.00. 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.


If you haven’t seen it yet, make sure you check out our post highlighting the dangerous, scary, and downright unusual items our officers found in 2012. The 2011 list can be found here.


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Bob Burns
TSA Blog Team


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http://blog.tsa.gov/2013/12/tsa-week...-firearms.html