The Transportation Safety Administration is out with new numbers showing the amount of guns stopped at checkpoints so far this year. They says 40 firearms were detected and stopped at checkpoints in the first nine months of the year at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport.
TSA spokesperson Jessica Maylee says of those 40 guns, 90 percent of them were loaded.
"Overwhelmingly, yeah, that is the case where people are carrying these loaded firearms, extremely dangerous, extremely risky," says Maylee. "It's usually an accident, they say, 'oh my gosh, I forgot, I had that in my bag, I didn't mean to do that.' But we really just want to get that message across, the passengers know where your firearms are, make sure you're not accidentally bringing it to the checkpoint."
Firearm detection is down slightly at airports nationwide according to TSA data. TSA says they still detected just over 5,000 guns in the first nine months and that more than 93 percent of them nationwide were loaded.
"The interesting thing is, though we saw record high travel volumes across the country, so with more passengers, I think we would have expected to see a bigger jump both at MSP and around the country and not seeing that is definitely good news," she adds. "So more passengers have meant fewer guns in this last quarter."
Maylee says travelers who bring guns to the security checkpoint are in for a long day.
"We don't even move the x-ray belt any further to bring that gun out," Maylee explains. "Once we determine that it's a firearm, we call local police and the local law enforcement who covers the airport, the airport authority, police, they come to the checkpoint. They're the ones who take possession of the weapon and then they determine, you know, any local criminal consequences."
Passengers could be arrested or issued a citation, and TSA may impose a $15,000 civil penalty.
The rate of firearms discoveries at TSA checkpoints during the most recent quarter (July – September) was 7.5 firearms per one million passengers, which is a decrease from the same period in 2023 when officers discovered 8.1 firearms per one million passengers.
“TSA is committed to keeping travelers, our officers, and airport employees safe, and the number of firearms being discovered at airport security checkpoints remains a significant challenge,” said TSA Administrator David Pekoske. “Each firearm brought to a checkpoint, whether by accident or on purpose, presents a threat to other passengers and our employees, and causes delays for the traveler with the firearm. Passengers who travel with a firearm must store it unloaded in a locked, hard-sided case, place it in their checked bag, and declare it to the airline at the airline ticket counter. We cannot stress enough the importance of ensuring firearms are secured properly in the passenger’s checked bag and never brought to the security checkpoint.”