In 2021, about 5,700 firearms were seized at airport security checkpoints in the US, the most ever reported by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). As per the reports of CBS News, the department announced that 5,674 weapons were confiscated in 2021 alone. The vast majority of the weapons were loaded with ammunition, which is around 85%. Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Houston airports had the highest number of weapons confiscated.
TSA administrator David Pekoske stated that it is at an all-time high and that the previous high was 4,400 weapons seized in 2019. Pekoske also stated that the rise in firearm seizures reflects what’s going on in the country. Individuals carrying loaded or unloaded firearms with accessible ammunition may face fines ranging from $3,000 to $10,000, as well as a criminal referral to law enforcement, according to TSA rules.
That charge is doubled for repeat offenders. Those who have a history of bringing loaded guns through security checks may be fined up to $13,910. The TSA also announced that it expects holiday travel to be busy this year, with peak traffic on December 23 and January 3, according to CBS News. During the 10-day Thanksgiving break, officers screened just under 21 million travellers, mirroring pre-pandemic levels of travel.
A 48-year-old Georgia man named Desmond Herring appeared in federal court in Newark, New Jersey, last week on firearm charges after allegedly attempting to get through security at Newark Liberty International Airport with a pistol, according to CBS News. US Attorney Rachael Honig stated that Herring has been charged with one count of carrying a weapon on an aircraft and one count of possessing a firearm and ammunition.
Clinton National airport spokesperson Shane Carter stated that even if there is no illegal intent to bring firearms, there are still enormous ramifications to bringing them in the airport, according to Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Russell White, Northwest National, Arkansas’ chief of police stated that if they find someone with the firearm, they take the firearm and the individual to the Police Department and run some basic checks on them to make sure they’re not a felon and that they can lawfully carry the firearm, and make sure the firearm isn’t stolen.
