U.S. airport security agents discovered a record 67 firearms in luggage
passengers intended to carry on to airplanes during one week in
September, according to the Transportation Security Administration
(TSA).
Of the 67 firearms
found during the week ended Sept. 17, 56 were loaded and 26 had a round
in the chamber, the TSA reported. The tally set a new weekly record. The
prior record was 65 firearms found during a week in May 2013, TSA said.
© Courtesy of TSA
A composite image of photos showing a few of of the 67 firearms removed
from luggage by the TSA at US airports during September 2015.
For the most recent week, ending Sept. 24, TSA said it found 64 firearms
in carry-on bags at airports. Of those, 55 were loaded and 22 had a
round chambered, TSA said.
In
July, new TSA Administrator Peter Neffenger told a congressional panel
that his top priority would be to close security gaps at airport
checkpoints.
Lawmakers opened
a U.S. House of Representatives hearing after a Department of Homeland
Security report that found TSA airport screeners did not detect banned
weapons in 67 of 70 tests at dozens of airport checkpoints.
Guns
in airplane luggage have been found all around the country. TSA said
its agents stopped a man Thursday at a Greater Rochester International
Airport checkpoint in New York when they detected a gun in his carry-on
bag. A day prior, on Sept. 23, TSA found a loaded firearm in a
passenger's carry-on bag at the Des Moines International Airport in
Iowa.
Nationwide, TSA officers have found more than 2,000 firearms at airport security checkpoints so far this year.
Weapons,
including firearms, firearm parts and ammunition, are banned from
carry-on bags, but can be transported in checked bags if they are
unloaded, and declared to the airline. Passengers who bring firearms to
the checkpoint face possible criminal charges and civil penalties up to
$11,000.
Title : Record number of guns found in U.S. airport searches - TSA
Description : U.S. airport security agents discovered a record 67 firearms in luggage passengers intended to carry on to airplanes during one week in Se...
