FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2015

TSA Week in Review: 45 Firearms, Inert Grenades and More

45 Firearms Discovered This Week – Of the 45firearms, 38 were loaded and 15 had rounds chambered. The firearm pictured above was discovered in a carry-on bag at ATL.

Inert Ordnance and Grenades etc. – We continue to find inert 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 respond to resolve the alarm. Even if they are novelty items, you are prohibited from bringing them on the aircraft.


  • A passenger at the Southwest Florida Airport (RSW) had two inert grenades in his checked bag and two fuses in his carry-on bag.
  • 3 inert/replica grenades were discovered in carry-on bags at Denver (DEN), Gainesville (GNV), and Richmond (RIC).
  • A replica grenade was discovered in a checked bag at San Antonio (SAT).

Clockwise from top left, inert grenades discovered at DEN, RSW, SAT, and RIC

Miscellaneous Prohibited Items – In addition to all of the other prohibited items we find weekly, officers also regularly find firearm components, realistic replica firearms, bb and pellet guns, airsoft guns, brass knuckles, ammunition, batons and many other prohibited items too numerous to note.

Clockwise from top left, knives discovered at: STL, MCO, TPA, SJU, SFO, SAN, PVD, MCO, LAS, OAK, LAS, PBI, HNL, DEN, ABI, IAD, and BWI

From the left, throwing stars discovered at: ANC, SAN, and CLT

Artfully Concealed Prohibited Items – Artfully concealed is a term used to describe an item that was intentionally hidden. It could be anything from a knife sewn into the lining of a bag to a sword hidden inside of a walking cane. If a concealed prohibited item is discovered in your bag or on your body, you could be cited and possibly arrested by law enforcement. Here are some examples from this week where artfully concealed items were discovered by our officers.

A knife wrapped in a computer power cord was detected atA knife wrapped in a computer power cord was detected at Ketchikan (KTN).(KTN).

  • A 15-inch cane sword was discovered at Chicago O’Hare (ORD).
  • A three-inch knife was detected duct taped under the lining of a carry-on bag at John Wayne (SNA).
  • A four-inch knife was detected under the lining of a carry-on bag at Tampa (TPA).

From the left: Stun Knuckles (LAS), Brass Knuckles (PHX), Stun Knuckles (FAY)

Stun Guns - 26 stun guns were discovered in carry-on bags this week. Three were discovered at Orlando (MCO), two at Las Vegas (LAS), two at San Francisco (SFO), and the remainder were discovered at Austin (AUS), Boston (BOS), Burbank (BUR), Cleveland (CLE), Columbia (CAE), Dallas Love (DAL), Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), Denver (DEN), Fayetteville (FAY), Houston Intercontinental (IAH), Jacksonville (JAX), Lafayette (LFT), Minneapolis (MSP), Nashville (BNA), New York Kennedy (JFK), New York LaGuardia (LGA), Palm Beach (PBI), Phoenix (PHX), and Santa Rosa (STS).

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.

Clockwise from top left, firearms discovered in carry-on bags at ATL, MSY, ELP, HOU, DSM, and BZN

*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 $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.

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

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Bob Burns
TSA Social Media Team
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Posted by Bob Burns (TSA Blog Team) at 5/29/2015 10:27:00 PM

http://blog.tsa.gov/2015/05/tsa-week...rms-inert.html