Thread: TSA Week in Review – 50 Firearms, Novelty Explosive Alarm Clock and Other Items

FRIDAY, MARCH 21, 2014

TSA Week in Review – 50 Firearms, Novelty Explosive Alarm Clock and Other Items of Note Discovered In Carry-on Bags This Week

Loaded Gun (HOU)

50 Firearms Discovered This Week – Of the 50 firearms, 43 were loaded and 15 had rounds chambered. See a complete list and more photos at the bottom of this post.

Novelty Explosive Alarm Clock

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 these items are found at a checkpoint or in checked baggage, they can cause significant delays in checkpoint screening because the bomb squad or explosives detection professionals must come to resolve the alarm to determine they’re not a threat. Even if they are novelty items, you cannot bring them on a plane. Read here on why inert items cause problems.

• A novelty alarm clock resembling an explosive device was discovered in a carry-on bag at Kansas City (MCI).
• An inert grenade was discovered in a carry-on bag at Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP).

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.

Pendant Knife (JAX), Credit Card Knife (COS), Pen Knife (LAX)

• 11 credit card knives were discovered this week. Three were discovered at Colorado Springs (COS), two at Kansas City (MCI), two at Bismarck (BIS), and the remainder were discovered at Fargo (FAR), Sloulin Field (ISN), Lansing (LAN), and Shreveport (SHV). Check out this blog post for more information on credit card knives.
• Two pen knives were discovered this week at Los Angeles (LAX), and San Jose (SJC).
• A belt buckle knife was discovered at Ft. Lauderdale (FLL).

Knife (OAK), Throwing Stars (LAX)

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 – 14 stun guns were discovered this week in carry-on bags around the nation. Three were discovered at Atlanta (ATL), two at Sacramento (SMF), two at Las Vegas (LAS), and the remainder were discovered at Anchorage (ANC), Birmingham (BHM), Dallas (DAL), Jacksonville (JAX), Lynchburg (LYH), Phoenix (PHX), and Springfield-Branson (SGF).

Airsoft Gun (DAL)

Airsoft Guns – An Airsoft gun was discovered in a carry-on bag at Dallas-Love (DAL). 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

Firearms Discovered This Week in Carry-On Bags

Guns Discovered At (T-B / L-R): PHX, MFE, LAX, CLT, TUL

Guns Discovered At (L-R/T-B):HOU, LAX, LAS, AUS, FAY, DEN, MSY, TPA

*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 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 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/2014/03/tsa-week-in-review-50-firearms-novelty.html