An Arkansas woman was cited by police after Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport intercepted a firearm among her carry-on items at one of the airport checkpoints on Wednesday (October 23). The .22 caliber firearm was loaded with five bullets.
When TSA officers intercepted the firearm they notified the Washington Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police who responded to the checkpoint, confiscated the weapon along with the ammunition and issued the woman a criminal citation.
Guns are not permitted through the security checkpoint and the woman now faces a stiff Federal financial civil penalty from TSA in addition to the criminal citation issued by the police. The Federal penalty for carrying weapons can reach a maximum of $15,000.
“This was a good catch on the part of our TSA officers,” said John Busch, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport. “When you look at the size of this gun, which can fold into itself, you can get the idea of just how challenging of a job this is and how skilled our officers are at detecting prohibited and illegal items. Our security officers are diligent and work hard to keep everyone safe. I ask all firearms owners to be as attentive to the contents of their carry-on items as our officers are.”