Gun Parts in Stuffed Animals Found During TSA Check at RI Airport

Gun parts in stuffed animals were located during a TSA search, “artfully concealed” within a children’s toy.

Law enforcement officials say the gun parts in stuffed animals were located Tuesday at Rhode Island’s T.F. Green Airport. Ammunition as well as firearm components were secreted among the toys, including a Mickey Mouse doll. But authorities explain that the gun parts in stuffed animals found in the possession of a father traveling to Detroit with his young son were sort of a misunderstanding.

Details of exactly how the gun parts in stuffed animals were placed are scant, but police say that it was ultimately determined that the situation arose due to a “domestic dispute,” and that the man and his small child “did not pose a risk” to airport safety or other flyers. ABC News obtained a statement from airport officials in Rhode Island:

“‘It appears to be the result of a domestic dispute,’ Rhode Island Airport Police Chief Leo Messier said in a statement. ‘It was jointly investigated by the RI Airport Police, FBI and the RI State Police and it was determined that there was no threat at any time to air safety.’

“Officials with airport police and the Transportation Security Administration declined to comment further, saying the incident remained under investigation.”

However, police did disclose that the gun parts in stuffed animals were spread across three toys in the child’s carry on- a .40 caliber gun was in one of the three, parts to a gun were in another, and a loaded magazine with firing pin were in the third.