The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at the John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) prevented a woman from bringing a loaded handgun through a security checkpoint while she was escorting a minor to their gate last Friday. This is one of the eight independent incidents the TSA has reported this week of people attempting to bring loaded guns to airports throughout the United States.
Doing what?
Last Friday, a woman from Connecticut was escorting a minor to their gate. She was carrying a .22 caliber gun loaded with nine bullets, including one in the chamber. She was not ticketed to fly and held a “gate pass” from the airline to allow her to escort the minor through the checkpoint and to their gate. However, she was arrested once TSA officers detected the gun during the security check. The woman could face a maximum penalty of US$15,000 for bringing a gun to a TSA checkpoint.
John Essig, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the JFK airport, said that his team performs their jobs exceptionally well.
“When dangerous items such as loaded guns are brought to a security checkpoint, it represents a serious safety concern. When a bullet is in the chamber of the firearm, it is an accident waiting to happen. Nobody is permitted to carry a firearm through a checkpoint—not a gate pass holder, not someone with a concealed weapons permit, not a traveler.”
This was the first firearm detected by the TSA at JFK airport in 2023. Last year, TSA officers prevented seven guns from getting through this hub, and all of them were loaded.
More incidents across the United States
Last year, the TSA caught a worrying 6,542 firearms in 262 airports across the United States. A whopping 88% of those guns were loaded. This year is proving to be very complex as well. Between February 13 and 14, TSA reported eight incidents. The detection of firearms has taken place at Appleton International Airport, Westchester County Airport, John Glenn Columbus Airport (two different guns), Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport, Philadelphia International, Harrisburg International, and JFK International.
TSA tackling the issue
After breaking the record for the number of firearms at security checkpoints in 2022, the TSA launched new measures to mitigate the threats. The administration increased the maximum civil penalty for a firearms violation to nearly $15,000. TSA will determine the penalty amount for an offense based on the circumstances in each case.
Additionally, the TSA will continue to revoke PreCheck eligibility for at least five years for passengers caught with a firearm in their possession and conduct enhanced screening for those passengers. Last year, TSA Administrator David Pekoske said,
“I applaud the work of our Transportation Security Officers who do an excellent job of preventing firearms from getting into the secure area of airports, and onboard aircraft. Firearms are prohibited in carry-on bags at the checkpoint and onboard aircraft. When a passenger brings a firearm to the checkpoint, this consumes significant security resources and poses a potential threat to transportation security, in addition to being very costly for the passenger.”
What do you think of these recent incidents reported by TSA? Let us know in the comments below.