#tsacheckpoint #TSA #LAXPD #airportpolice
Left In Carry-Ons, TSA Agents Find Thousands Of Guns At Security Checkpoints
By ANTHONY CAVE, LUIS MELGAR • DEC 1, 2018 Last year, more than 771 million people passed through airport security nationwide. Among the liquids and wrapped presents Transportation Security Administration agents unearth in passengers’ carry-ons, they’re finding more and more firearms.
From 2015 to 2017, the TSA found at least 9,866 firearms in carry-on baggage at airports nationwide.
Unlike laptops or liquids under three ounces, firearms are listed on TSA’s prohibited items list, meaning like aerosol containers and lighters, they’re not allowed in the cabin, and can only be packed in a checked bag.
According to Guns & America’s analysis of data released by TSA, the number of guns found at airport security checkpoints has grown. The TSA found 3,896 guns at airports across the country in 2017 - 49 percent more guns than the 2,608 guns found in 2015.
More than 85 percent of these guns were loaded and more than 3 in 10 firearms found were “round-chambered” and ready to shoot.
The analysis of TSA data paints a picture of the firearms floating around our communities every day. Many of the guns found at airport security were left in the bottom of bags or in purses, forgotten until their owner slid their carry-on bag through screening equipment.
Forgotten guns
Carrying a gun through a TSA checkpoint is illegal. But due to the growth in state-issued concealed carry permits, many jurisdictions let permit-holders carry loaded firearms on their person or in a bag.
“They don’t think twice about it,” said Jeff Price, a former assistant security director at Denver International Airport. “They think ‘I have a permit,’ and that permit I know is good across state lines. They don’t think that does not apply on an airplane.”
courtesy of TSA
The collage above includes images of the guns TSA found in carry-on bags across the country in 2017.
According to the Crime Prevention Research Center, a conservative nonprofit organization, more than 17.2 million people have concealed handgun permits in 2018, up more than 5 percent since 2017.
“It’s hard to speculate,” said TSA spokeswoman Carrie Harmon. “Most passengers say that they forgot their firearm was in their carry-on bag. We want to remind people, you need to check your bags when you pack them.”
Ammunition
It’s not just firearms that are illegal to carry through TSA; transporting ammunition in your carry-on is also prohibited.
According to Guns & America’s analysis, 8,474 of the guns left in carry-ons found by TSA over the course of 2015-2017 were loaded.
Location, Location, Location
In 2017, the most recent full year we have data available, TSA agents found the most guns in carry-ons at:
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL) in Atlanta, Georgia
Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW) in Dallas, Texas
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) in Austin, Texas
George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston, Texas
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) in Phoenix, Arizona
ATL, DFW and IAH are among the world’s busiest airports.
Luis Melgar, WAMU.
ATL tops the list with 260 firearms found at TSA checkpoints in 2017.
When you adjust the numbers to account for the number of passengers at each airport, however, the rankings show a different picture.
TSA releases the raw numbers of guns its agents discover in baggage in weekly reports. Guns & America analyzed TSA data to compare the rate at which agents find guns at each airport.
Among the 84 U.S. airports with more than 1 million passengers in 2017, Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International (BHM) in Alabama saw the highest rate of firearms found per passenger: 3.68 per 100,000 passengers.
In Atlanta at ATL, that rate was 0.52 per 100,000 passengers. At DFW in Dallas, it was 0.55 per 100,000.
Like Birmingham, at smaller airports in cities such as Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Boise and Spokane, TSA agents discovered more guns per passenger than at the larger, busier airports.
While passenger volume can impact the number of guns found, Guns & America’s analysis of TSA data found airports with high passenger volume in states with strict gun laws, like LAX in Los Angeles and New York’s JFK, saw a lower number of guns discovered in carry-ons in 2017.
Luis Melgar, WAMU
When comparing the number of firearms found with the number of passengers, BHM (Birmingham, AL) has the highest rate of firearms per 100,000 passengers boarded.
The process
When a TSA agent finds a firearm in a carry-on, they contact airport police. Police then take possession of the weapon and determine whether or not there will be criminal charges.
The TSA can then also levy a civil penalty, which can be as high as $13,300.
2 дек 2018
