'Epidemic of guns showing up at our checkpoints': TSA stops loaded 9mm at Newark airport

A Pennsyvlania man was arrested at Newark Liberty International Airport over the weekend after officials caught him trying to bring a loaded handgun onto his flight, the Transportation Security Administration said Monday.

The Monroe County man was stopped on Saturday after a TSA officer spotted his 9mm handgun in the checkpoint X-ray machine, authorities said. Port Authority police responded to the Terminal C checkpoint, where they confiscated the weapon and interviewed the man before arresting him on a state weapons charge, the TSA said.

TSA officials said the number of guns being caught at checkpoints has been steadily increasing, including 32 across New York's three major area airports so far this year. At Newark alone, 18 guns have been seized so far this year, compared to 11 in 2019. Eight guns have also been caught at John F. Kennedy International Airport and six at LaGuardia Airport so far this year, officials said.

“Travelers need to pay more attention to the items that they have inside their carry-on bags,” Thomas Carter, the TSA’s federal security director for New Jersey, said in a statement. “Our officers have caught more guns in the first nine months of the year than we have ever caught in a full year. We are at a point where each gun that is caught sets a new record. It’s as though there is an epidemic of guns showing up at our checkpoints.

The penalty for bringing a weapon to a TSA checkpoint can cost as much as $15,000, depending on the circumstances, officials said.

Carter said airport travelers should start packing with an empty bag so they know with certainty what they've got inside of it.

“Our officers are doing a tremendous job staying vigilant while screening travelers,” Carter said. “Carrying prohibited or illegal items to security checkpoints slows down the security lines for everyone. It is vitally important to know that the items you have in your carry-on bag are allowed through our security checkpoints."

TSA officers have prevented more than 4,000 guns from getting through security checkpoints nationwide so far this year. Last year, 6,542 firearms were caught at 262 out of 430 airport security checkpoints nationwide. Of those guns, 88% were loaded, the agency said.