Man With Loaded Gun Arrested at Salt Lake City Airport

A man at Salt Lake City Airport was arrested earlier this week after authorities found a loaded gun in his bag. The gun was in the man’s carry-on luggage and was discovered by the TSA at a screening checkpoint. The man was arrested and the gun was confiscated by the TSA.

USA Today reports that the 45-year-old man, Douglas Egon Nielsen, was arrested on Tuesday when airport security officers discovered a loaded a .380 caliber Kel-Tec loaded with five rounds of ammunition in his bag at a security checkpoint. Nielsen was traveling from Salt Lake City to Atlanta when he was arrested.

Nielsen was booked at the Salt Lake County jail on suspicion of possessing a dangerous weapon.

The incident isn’t exactly common, but according to the Salt Lake Tribune, the TSA has confiscated 26 guns during the 2011 fiscal year. Since January 2011, the TSA has confiscated more than 800 firearms at airports around the country.

Lorie Dankers, a spokeswoman with the TSA, said that passengers may transport guns in their checked luggage, depending on state law, but firearms, ammunition, firearm parts, and realistic replicas of firearms are prohibited in carry-on baggage.

Do you think Douglas Nielsen was intending to hijack the plane? Or was he just careless about packing his gun?