Veteran’s gun, silencer stolen from SLC airport baggage claim
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — A gun and silencer were stolen from the Salt Lake City International Airport’s baggage claim Sunday, and the owner says it never should have been there.
Austin Lesnar, a Marine veteran, said he checked his firearm at the Sioux Falls Regional Airport in South Dakota. He was told his luggage would be checked to his final destination of Cedar City, however, it ended up at a baggage claim in Salt Lake City.
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Salt Lake City police say video surveillance captured a man watching the baggage claim before grabbing the case and quickly leaving the airport. Detectives say he left the area on a TRAX train.
While he was at the airport, Lesnar said he received a notification saying his luggage was headed to the baggage claim. Concerned, he asked a staff member at one of the gates, who assured him it was being transferred to the right location. They told him the notification was incorrect and was only due to his switching airlines.
When he arrived in Cedar City, the gun was missing. He then called United Airlines which confirmed it had been taken off the plane in Salt Lake City. Airline staff then found the security footage of the man taking the case.
Lesnar said he followed the TSA rules, which include declaring the firearm, ensuring it was unloaded, and packing it in a hard-sided container.
Lesnar says there were procedures that the airlines, Delta and United, did not follow as the gun not only should have been transferred to the next flight but also should never have been on a baggage carousel to begin with.
“This is a huge mistake,” Lesnar said. “We don’t know who the guy is, what if he’s a felon or if he’s a dangerous criminal that now has access to a firearm he never should have [had]?”
According to the National Rifle Association, firearms most often arrive in the baggage office where staff will ask for an ID or baggage claim ticket. However, it does say that in rare cases, usually in smaller airports, the firearm will be delivered on the carousel with the rest of the baggage.
The Salt Lake City Police Department said baggage theft is rare as airport officers and staff work together to protect passenger luggage.
The Salt Lake International Airport said the gun being at the baggage claim was purely an airline mistake. ABC4 has reached out to both United and Delta for comment but has yet to hear back.
Lesnar and authorities are asking anyone with information to contact the Salt Lake City Police at 801-799-3000 and reference case number 23-267008.
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