TSA agents catch 2 guns in 1 hour at Pittsburgh International

Security screeners at Pittsburgh International Airport caught two guns in one hour Tuesday, leading to charges against one woman for carrying a gun in her purse without a license, authorities said.

Transportation Security Administration agents found the first firearm, a loaded .25-caliber handgun, about 5:30 p.m. in a woman’s purse at the airport’s main checkpoint.

Allegheny County Police said Jadayia Kursh, 21, of Arkansas, did not have a concealed carry permit. Authorities said Kursh was charged and taken to the Allegheny County Jail, and the FBI was alerted.

About an hour later, TSA screeners spotted an unloaded 9mm handgun inside a passenger’s carry-on bag, authorities said.

The 34-year-old passenger had a concealed carry permit and said he “inadvertently left the firearm in his bag,” police said. County police seized the gun and the man was permitted to fly.

At least 22 guns have been caught at Pittsburgh International’s checkpoints in 2020. Thirty-five were seized in 2019, up from 34 the year before.

JUST IN: @TSA screened 912,090 individuals at airport checkpoints nationwide yesterday, Tuesday, Nov. 24. One week earlier, on Tuesday, Nov. 17, TSA screened 611,497 people across the country. One year ago, on Tuesday of Thanksgiving week, 2,435,170 people were screened.

— Lisa Farbstein, TSA Spokesperson (@TSA_Northeast) November 25, 2020

Airlines saw their busiest day since the pandemic began on Sunday when more than 1 million passengers passed through checkpoints across the country. It was the second time in three days that more than 1 million people traveled through airports.

Daily passenger numbers have surpassed 1 million only three times since March as covid-19 spread across the country and world.

On Monday, more than 917,000 passengers were screened nationwide, followed by another 912,000 on Tuesday.

During the same time last year, more than 2 million passengers were passing through airports daily, according to TSA records.