TSA stops woman from bringing gun on flight at Richmond International Airport
RICHMOND, Va. (WAVY) — Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers stopped a Rockville Virginia woman from bringing her handgun onto a flight early Wednesday morning.
The X-ray unit alerted on the woman’s carry-on bag as she entered the checkpoint. When TSA officers inspected the bag they found a .380 caliber handgun that was loaded with six bullets.
Richmond Airport Police removed the firearm and cited the woman on a weapons charge. TSA does not confiscate firearms caught at checkpoints.
The woman now faces a stiff financial penalty for bringing a gun to a TSA security checkpoint. Depending on the circumstances, penalties for carrying weapons to the checkpoint can reach as high as $15,000.
“It is disappointing to see travelers continue to bring their guns to our checkpoints because in doing so they create a potentially dangerous situation through their own actions,” said Robin “Chuck” Burke, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport. “It doesn’t matter what color a gun is. It doesn’t matter if it’s black, teal, pink or a camo design, it’s still prohibited from being carried onto a flight. We have no issues with passengers who pack their firearms properly to be transported on their flight, but bringing a gun to a checkpoint is not the way to do it.”
As a reminder, passengers are are only permitted to travel with firearms in checked baggage.
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