A Mercer County man was stopped at a Transportation Security checkpoint Thursday morning and prevented from taking a loaded handgun on a plane.
According to the TSA, the man was carrying a loaded .380 caliber gun loaded with eight bullets. Officers saw the gun during an x-ray.
Allegheny County Police confiscated the weapon.
"Once again we've caught a traveler who claimed he forgot that he had his loaded gun with him and did not pack his gun properly for transporting it on his flight," said Karen Keys-Turner, TSA's Federal Security Director for the airport. "I want to remind travelers that there may be a pandemic, but our officers remain vigilant about preventing weapons that pose a security threat from getting onto flights. If you bring a gun to our checkpoint, you will face a stiff federal financial civil penalty."
So far this year, 13 guns were stopped at the airport. In all of last year, a total of 21 guns were stopped.
