THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2017

TSA Week in Review May 15th - 21st: Record 82 Firearms Discovered Last Week

***The TSA Blog will be migrating from Blogger to TSA.gov over the next two weeks. From now until the time it has migrated, comments will be disabled and no posts will be published. It's expected to take two weeks. We’ll let you know when it’s ready and we can’t wait to see you over at the new blog!***


TSA discovered a record 82 firearms last week in carry-on bags around the nation. Of the 82 firearms discovered, 66 were loaded and 18 had a round chambered. The previous record of 81 firearms was set in August of 2016 and tied in March of 2017.

Firearm possession laws vary by state and locality.

Travelers bringing firearms to the checkpoint can be arrested and fined up to $11,000. Travelers should familiarize themselves with state and local firearm laws for each point of travel prior to departure. You can go here for more details on how to properly travel with your firearms in checked baggage. All of the firearms pictured were discovered last week. See a complete list below.

Clockwise from the top, these knives were discovered in carry-on bags at LAS, DTW, CRW, DTW, IAH, SBA and SFO. While all knives are prohibited in carry-on bags, they may be packed in checked baggage.

This cane sword was discovered in a passenger’s carry-on property at the Valley International Airport (HRL). All knives and swords are prohibited in carry-on bags and concealed items can lead to fines and arrest. Many don’t even know there is sword in their cane. If you’re using a secondhand cane, just give it a twist and a pull at the handle to make sure you don’t have a sword cane.



This pocket knife was discovered concealed inside of a pill bottle at Burlington (BTV).

All of these items were discovered inside a traveler’s carry-on bag at Dallas Fort Worth (DFW)

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.


*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.

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. 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 read them yet, make sure you check out our year in review posts for 2011, 2012, 2013,2014, 2015 and 2016. And don’t forget to check out our top 10 most unusual finds of 2016 video!

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Bob Burns
TSA Social Media Team

Posted by Bob Burns (TSA Blog Team) at 5/25/2017 05:58:00 PM

http://blog.tsa.gov/2017/05/tsa-week...st-record.html