April 11, 2022
Thom Carroll/For PhillyVoice
A Philadelphia woman was arrested Thursday for carrying a loaded gun in her handbag as she went through a security checkpoint at Philadelphia International Airport, TSA officials say.
A Philadelphia woman was arrested Thursday for attempting to bring a loaded handgun onto a flight departing from Philadelphia International Airport.
TSA officers spotted the firearm in the woman's handbag as it was going through the X-ray machine at an airport security checkpoint, the TSA said Monday. The .25 caliber gun was loaded with five bullets, including one in the chamber.
Police detained the woman before arresting her on a weapons violation. The woman will be issued a federal financial civil penalty, the TSA said.
Those penalties include fines that total thousands of dollars, depending upon the circumstances. They apply to travelers with or without concealed gun carry permits. Travelers with TSA PreCheck can have their privileges revoked if they are caught with a gun.
Firearms can be transported as checked baggage if packed correctly and declared at an airline's ticket counter. Guns must be unloaded, packed in a hard case, locked and stored separately from ammunition.
"Guns and airplanes don't mix," said Gerardo Spero, the TSA’s federal security director at Philadelphia International Airport. "If you want to bring your gun on a flight, pack it correctly for transport or leave it home."
This was the seventh firearm confiscated this year at Philadelphia International Airport security checkpoints, TSA officials said. Six of them have been loaded.
Last year, TSA officers nabbed 39 guns at the airport — the highest number over the last five years. Across the country, the TSA obtained nearly 6,000 firearms from passengers' carry-on bags.
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