Loaded gun found in passenger's carry-on bag at LAX

August 16, 2011 | 4:22pm

Federal authorities discovered a loaded handgun in the carry-on bag of a passenger from Alabama as he passed through a security checkpoint Tuesday morning at Los Angeles International Airport.

Airport police arrested Joshua Banks, 25, on suspicion of carrying a loaded firearm after the .38-caliber Walther pistol was discovered in his luggage during X-ray screening by Transportation Security Administration officers.

Firearms are allowed in checked baggage as long as they are unloaded, stored in a proper carrying case and reported to the airline.

Banks, who had purchased a ticket for a flight to Dallas, was taken into custody at the American Airlines terminal and booked into jail at LAPD’s Pacific Division.

TSA officials say the agency discovers about two firearms a day in the luggage of travelers at airports across the nation.

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