TSA Week in Review: 51 Loaded Firearms and a Chihuahua in a Checked Bag
#TSATravelTips - Ay, #Chihuahua! It’s always important to double check your bags before traveling, especially to make sure your Chihuahua hasn’t stowed away inside one of them. That’s exactly what happened this week at #NewYork’s #LaGuardia (#LGA) Airport. While resolving a checked baggage alarm, an officer was shocked when he found a dog in the bag! Apparently, the dog climbed in while its owner was packing her suitcase. TSA worked with the airline to identify the owner, and the two were happily reunited. #DogsOfInstagram #TSAGoodCatch
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| Loaded firearm discovered in a carry-on bag at Memphis (MEM). |
55 Firearms Discovered Last Week
– Of the
55 firearms,
51 were loaded and
13 had rounds chambered.
Stun Guns - 13 stun guns were discovered in carry-on bags this week. Two were discovered
at Dallas Love (DAL), and the remainder were discovered at Atlanta (ATL),
Charlottesville (CHO), Denver (DEN), Huntsville (HSV), Las Vegas (LAS),
Orlando (MCO), Redman (RDM), Reno (RNO), Richmond (RIC), San Diego (SAN),
and San Francisco (SFO).
Miscellaneous Prohibited Items
– In addition to all of the other prohibited items we find weekly, officers
also regularly find firearm components, realistic replica firearms, bb
and pellet guns, airsoft guns, brass knuckles, ammunition, batons and
many other prohibited items too numerous to note.
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| Ammunition discovered in a carry-on bag at Oklahoma City (OKC). |
Ammunition – When packed properly, ammunition can be transported in your checked baggage, but it is never permissible to pack ammo in your carry-on bag.
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| TSA officers have discovered firearms at security checkpoints in 41 of 50 states so far this year. |
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| Clockwise from top left, firearms discovered in carry on bags at: TPA, MCI, TRI, IND, ATL & LYH |
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| Clockwise from top left, firearms discovered in carry on bags at: GSO, CRP, BNA, SFB, OKC, DEN, FAY & SAT |
You can travel with your firearms in checked baggage, but they must first be declared to the airline. You can go here for more details on how to properly travel with your firearms. Firearm possession laws vary by state and locality. Travelers should familiarize themselves with state and local firearm laws for each point of travel prior to departure .
Unfortunately these sorts of occurrences are all too frequent which is why we talk about these finds. Sure, it’s great to share the things that our officers are finding, but at the same time, each time we find a dangerous item, the line is slowed down and a passenger that likely had no ill intent ends up with a citation or in some cases is even arrested. The passenger can face a penalty as high as $7,500. This is a friendly reminder to please leave these items at home. Just because we find a prohibited item on an individual does not mean they had bad intentions; that's for the law enforcement officer to decide. In many cases, people simply forgot they had these items.
Read our 2014 Year in Review post! If you haven’t read them yet, make sure you check out our year in review posts for 2011 , 2012 and 2013 .
Bob Burns