54 Loaded Guns Seized At Airports By TSA

The TSA announced this week that it seized 54 loaded guns at airport security checkpoints.

The government agency confiscated 65 firearms in total at airports around the country this week. The agency found that 54 of those guns were loaded and another 17 had a bullet in the chamber.

The TSA writes on its blog that passengers may transport weapons in checked luggage (as long as they declare it first) but they aren’t allowed to bring weapons onto the plane in carry-on bags. The agency also notes that there is no evidence that any of the loaded weapons that were confiscated this week belonged to people who had malicious intent.

The TSA did say, however, that security lines were slowed down this week due to all of the guns.

The TSA writes: “Unfortunately these sorts of occurrences are all too frequent which is why we talk about these finds. Sure, it’s great to share the things that our officers are finding, but at the same time, each time we find a dangerous item, the throughput is slowed down and a passenger that likely had no ill intent ends up with a citation or in some cases is even arrested.” The passenger can face a penalty as high as $7,500.00. This is a friendly reminder to please leave these items at home. Just because we find a prohibited item on an individual does not mean they had bad intentions, that’s for the law enforcement officer to decide. In many cases, people simply forgot they had these items.”

MSNBC notes that in addition to the 54 loaded guns, the TSA also seized a dozen stun guns, a couple of inert grenades, some ammunition and a few razor blades. The TSA also said that it stopped a few passengers who claimed that they had bombs with them. The TSA noted that both individuals were joking about the bombs but warned future passengers that jokes about bombs would undoubtedly slow down security lines.