FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2014

TSA Week in Review – 26 Loaded Firearms Discovered in Carry-on Bags This Week

Loaded Firearm (IND)

30 Firearms Discovered This Week – Of the 30 firearms, 26 were loaded andnine had rounds chambered. See a complete list and more photos at the bottom of this post.

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 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 the explosives detection professionals must resolve the alarm to determine the level of threat. Even if they are novelty items, you cannot bring them on a plane.
Read here on why inert items cause problems.

Airsoft Grenades (DEN)

  • Seven replica Airsoft grenades were discovered in checked baggage at Denver (DEN). While Airsoft guns can be packed in checked baggage, anything resembling a grenade is prohibited from both carry-on and checked baggage.

Items Found at (Counter Clockwise) FAI),DEN), MEM, BIL

Artfully Concealed Prohibited Items – It’s important to examine your bags prior to traveling to ensure prohibited items are not inside. If a prohibited item is discovered in your bag or on your body, you could be cited and 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 kubaton with a concealed knife inside was discovered at Sarasota (SRQ).
  • A knife concealed in a walking cane was discovered at Fairbanks (FAI). Our officers find these items frequently, and most passengers are unaware that their mobility aid doubled as a weapon.

Items Discovered at (L-R) LAS, DAL

  • A hairbrush dagger was discovered in a carry-on bag at Denver (DEN). Officers discovered it after going through the bag with a fine-toothed comb.
  • A stun gun concealed to look like a cell phone was discovered in a carry-on bag at Las Vegas (LAS).
  • Fourteen credit card knives were discovered this week. Two were discovered at Charleston (CHS), two at Kansas City (MCI), two more at Sonoma County (STS), and the remainder were discovered at Billings (BIL), Cincinnati (CVG), Central Wisconsin (CWA), Dothan (DHN), Lansing (LAN), Milwaukee (MKE), Myrtle Beach (MYR), and Oakland (OAK). Check out this blog post for more information on credit card knives.


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…

Stun Guns – Eighteen stun guns were discovered this week in carry-on bags around the nation. Two were discovered at Las Vegas (LAS), two more at Tri-Cities (TRI), and the remainder were discovered at Albuquerque (ABQ), Baltimore (BWI), Dallas (DAL), Denver (DEN), Houston (IAH), New York LaGuardia (LGA), Manchester (MHT), Ontario (ONT), Raleigh (RDU), Rochester (ROC), San Francisco (SFO), St. Louis (STL), Santa Rosa (STS), and Tucson (TUS).

Airsoft Gun (LAS)

Airsoft Guns – An Airsoft gun was discovered in a carry-on bag at Las Vegas (LAS). Airsoft guns are prohibited in carry-on bags, but allowed in checked baggage. Airsoft grenades are not permitted in checked or carry-on bags. Read this post for more information:TSA Travel Tips Tuesday: Traveling With Airsoft Guns

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

Ammunition Discovered at (L-R) ORD and SDY

Firearms Discovered This Week in Carry-On Bags
(Top to Bottom) Guns Discovered at PHX and BWI


*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.

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 $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 TSA Blog Year in Review for 2013. You can also check out 2011 & 2012 as well.

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Bob Burns
TSA Blog Team

If you have a travel related issue or question that needs an immediate answer, you can contact us byclicking here.

http://blog.tsa.gov/2014/05/tsa-week...-firearms.html