TSA catches 3 guns in 8 days at Pittsburgh International

Security officials caught three travelers trying to get guns through the checkpoint at Pittsburgh International Airport in the past eight days, officials said.

The guns mark a continuing trend Transportation Security Administration officials noted last month: fewer travelers passing through airport security but more guns being caught by agents.

On Sept. 2, security agents spotted a loaded 9mm handgun in a Cranberry man’s carry-on bag, according to TSA and Allegheny County police officials.

County police Inspector Kenneth Ruckel said the 46-year-old had a concealed carry permit, and he was able to fly after he was questioned and turned the handgun over to authorities. He said the man will not face charges.

An Erie County man was stopped by security agents Friday with a loaded .380-caliber handgun, also in a carry-on backpack, Farbstein said. The 53-year-old man, from Johnsonburg, had a valid concealed carry permit, and county police said he told them he’d forgotten to take the gun out of his bag.

Inspector Kenneth Ruckel said the man was allowed to board his flight, and no charges will be filed.

Four days later, security agents caught a West Virginia man with a loaded .9-mm handgun in his backpack, according to TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein. The gun, loaded with seven rounds, showed up on the X-ray scanner. Allegheny County Police and the FBI were notified, and county police Inspector Michael Peairs said the 30-year-old man was allowed to board his flight, and no charges are expected.

Each of the men said they’d accidentally left their gun in their carry-on bag, an explanation TSA officials have said is alarming. They face fines.

“It’s just really disconcerting that even during a pandemic, we’re seeing people bringing guns to checkpoints,” Farbstein said last month.

Officials said in August they caught three times as many firearms at security checkpoints in July 2020 as they did during the same month in 2019: 15.3 guns per million passengers as opposed to 5.1 guns per million passengers.

TSA administrator David Pekoske said at the time that the rate is especially alarming when coupled with the fact that the TSA screened about 75% fewer passengers in July compared with the previous year’s volume.

The number of firearms caught at Pittsburgh’s security checkpoints has increased each year since 2017, though not by much: 32 in 2017, 34 in 2018 and 35 in 2019. So far in 2020, TSA agents have found 13 guns in carry on bags.