TSA Week in Review: 41 Loaded Firearms, Lipstick Stun Gun, Hatchet & More!

Loaded firearm discovered at LAX

Artfully Concealed Prohibited Items – Artfully concealed is a term used to describe an item that was intentionally hidden. It could be anything from a knife sewn into the lining of a bag to a sword hidden inside of a walking cane. If a concealed prohibited item is discovered in your bag or on your body, you could be cited and possibly arrested by law enforcement. Here are some examples from this week where artfully concealed items were discovered by our officers.

• A folding credit card knife was discovered concealed in a cardboard instant coffee container in a carry-on bag at Bishop International (FNT).
• A lipstick stun gun was discovered in a carry-on bag at Chicago Midway (MDW).

Lipstick Stun Gun (MDW) & Concealed Credit Card Knife (FNT)

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.

Clockwise from top left, items discovered at: LGA, JFK, HOU, ORD, SFO, MEM, PHL and AUS

Roman Candle (ALB), Monkey Fist & Cat Knuckles (MDW)

Stun Guns - 20 stun guns were discovered this week in carry-on bags. Three were discovered at Dallas Love (DAL), two at Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), two at Jacksonville (JAX), two at Sacramento (SMF), and the remainder were discovered at Chicago Midway (MDW), Denver (DEN), Gulfport (GPT), Las Vegas (LAS), Minneapolis (MSP), Quad City (MLI), Phoenix (PHX), Portland (PDX), Raleigh-Durham (RDU), San Francisco (SFO), and Washington Dulles (IAD).

Ammo discovered in carry-on bag at HTS.

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.

Clockwise from top left, firearms discovered in carry-on bags at: PHX, LAX, BNA, PHX, CMH, OMA & TUL

Clockwise from top left, firearms discovered in carry-on bags at: ATL, SAT & MDW

*In order to provide a timely weekly update, this data is compiled from a preliminary report. The year-end numbers will vary slightly from what is reported in the weekly updates. However, any monthly, midyear or end-of-year numbers TSA provides on this blog or elsewhere will be actual numbers and not estimates.

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 $11,000. 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