4 guns caught in 4 days 'an epidemic' at Pittsburgh International Airport

Security agents caught four guns over four days in carry-on baggage at Pittsburgh International Airport, two of which were loaded, according to Transportation Security Administration officials.

Firearms cannot be brought to the checkpoint or transported in carry-on baggage. They must be packed, unloaded, in a hard-sided case and declared at the check-in counter alongside other checked baggage. A concealed carry permit does not allow a traveler to circumvent that process.

The prevailing explanation given by travelers who are caught with guns is that they forgot it was in their carry-on bag.

“Four guns in four days is an epidemic — one that is entirely and easily preventable,” Karen Keys-Turner, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport, said in a statement. “Here is my message to gun owners. Do not bring your gun to our security checkpoints or you will be fined. Heavily fined. If you want to avoid paying what could amount to thousands of dollars, then either pack your gun properly for air transport or don’t bring it with you in the first place.”

TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein broke down the four-day run of firearms at the airport:

On Thursday, a Homer City man was caught with an unloaded .380-caliber handgun. On Friday, a Pittsburgh woman was stopped with a loaded 9 mm handgun. Security agents on Saturday stopped a Canonsburg man with a .380-caliber handgun and, on Sunday, they caught an Enterprise, West Virginia, man with a loaded 9 mm.

When a security officer spots a gun on the checkpoint X-ray machine, the entire security line grinds to halt while Allegheny County Police respond. County police alert the FBI and, while most travelers are permitted to take their flights, they can be fined anywhere from $3,000 to $13,910.

Twenty-six guns have been caught at Pittsburgh International so far this year, already surpassing the 21 from 2020 — a number that fell alongside passenger volume amidst the covid-19 pandemic.

Farbstein said that, despite the drop in passengers and guns, the number of guns caught nationwide last year amounted to twice as many guns per million passengers when compared to 2019 — about 10 guns per million passengers compared to five per million.