Security agents at Pittsburgh International Airport caught a man with a gun in his carry-on bag Monday, authorities said, marking the 19th firearm caught so far this year.
Transportation Security Administration screeners spotted the 9mm handgun shortly before 1:30 p.m., according to Allegheny County Police. Authorities said the 52-year-old man had a valid concealed carry permit, and he’d unwittingly left the gun in his backpack.
Police said the man was permitted to fly, and no criminal charges are expected.
A loaded firearm was also confiscated from a traveler Friday morning, that time a .380-caliber handgun loaded with six rounds, according to TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein.
Federal authorities will level civil penalties against the woman, Farbstein said.
A first offense for bringing a firearm to the security checkpoint, inadvertently or not, can carry a fine of $4,100, Farbstein said. That can go as high as more than $13,000 depending on the circumstances. Checkpoint lines grind to a halt when agents discover a weapon, and local and federal authorities are called in. Concealed carry permits do not allow travelers to fly with a firearm.
Earlier this month, security agents caught two guns within one hour.
The number of guns caught at Pittsburgh International checkpoints has gone up slightly each of the past three years: 32 in 2017, 34 in 2018 and 35 in 2019.
TSA officials said in August that while the covid-19 pandemic had air travel numbers way down, agents were catching more guns at checkpoints – particularly during the summer months when three times as many firearms were found in carry-on baggage. In July, officers found 15.3 guns per million people. In July 2019, they found 5.3 per million passengers, officials said.
