NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A Louisiana woman was arrested Monday after TSA officers at LaGuardia Airport stopped her from carrying her loaded handgun onto a flight.
The agency said that a Transportation Security Administration officer spotted the weapon on the checkpoint X-ray machine's monitor as the woman's items entered the X-ray unit.
The Transportation Security Administration immediately notified Port Authority Police, who responded to the checkpoint and confiscated the .38 caliber revolver handgun, which was loaded with five bullets.
The woman was then detained for questioning and arrested for a weapons violation. She also faces a "stiff" federal civil penalty for bringing a gun to an airport security checkpoint.
Robert Duffy, TSA's Federal Security Director for the airport, said that TSA officers have stopped more than twice as many guns at their security checkpoints this year compared to last year.
"Nobody should be bringing a gun to a checkpoint because they are not permitted to be carried onto airplanes," he said. "This goes for people who have concealed carry permits and it goes for travelers who are enrolled in TSA PreCheck. If an individual wants to transport their firearm for a flight, it must be properly packed for placement in checked baggage. That starts with ensuring that it is unloaded."
Monday's arrest came after the TSA discovered a cat inside a checked bag at JFK Airport last week, as well as 90 pounds of weed inside another checked bag at the airport.
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