Firearm Found In Fredericksburg Man's Carry-On Items At VA Airport

After TSA officers at an airport checkpoint found an unloaded 9mm pistol in the Fredericksburg man's carry-on items, Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority Police confiscated the weapon. The traveler now faces a federal penalty of up to $15,000, according to TSA "Bringing a gun to one of our checkpoints, even one that is not loaded, is prohibited," said John Busch, TSA's federal security director for the airport.. "I would like to acknowledge the TSA officers who took quick action and to the MWAA police officers who responded to the checkpoint and ensured that the man did not retain control of his gun," he said.

People are allowed to travel with their handguns, but the handguns must be properly stored in their checked baggage and declared at check-in. In addition, handguns must be stored unloaded in a hard-locked case, with ammunition stored separately. The hard-locked case must be brought to the airline check-in window, where it will be checked with the traveler's baggage.

"People who own firearms need to be more cognizant of where and when they are carrying their weapon. It is no secret that guns cannot be carried by passengers into the TSA security checkpoint or onto an aircraft. However, they are allowed to be transported in checked baggage. If you own a firearm, it is critically important that you always know where it is, and you know that it is not among the items in your carry-on bag when you come to an airport. That is part of being a responsible gun owner," Busch said.

TSA has more information available online for people traveling with firearms.

To transport a firearm for a flight, it must be unloaded, packed in a locked hard-sided case and declared at the airline counter so it can be placed in the belly of the aircraft with the checked baggage.

Including the handgun found on Wednesday, TSA officers have detected a total of 35 firearms at Washington National in 2024. Thirty-nine firearms were stopped at the airport in 2023 , which was 10 more than the previous year.