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The Sullivan County resident, from the town of Liberty, was charged on Wednesday, April 19 after the unloaded firearm was found alongside five bullets in a gun magazine said TSA officials.
The man's name is pending release by the New York New Jersey Port Authority.
The handgun was detected when the man entered the security checkpoint with his carry-on items. The checkpoint X-ray unit triggered an alarm, requiring that the carry-on items be more closely inspected, which is when the firearm was removed, the TSA said.
When the TSA officer spotted the gun, Port Authority Police were alerted, confiscated the weapon, and arrested the man on a weapons charge.
The man told officials that he packed his own carry-on bag and that he had no idea how the gun and loaded gun magazine came to be inside his bag. He also claimed that the gun did not belong to him.
In addition to his arrest, the man also faces a stiff federal financial penalty. Federal penalties can reach as high as $15,000 for bringing a weapon to an airport checkpoint, depending on the circumstances, the TSA said.
“It is the busy spring travel season and when someone shows up with a firearm at the checkpoint the conveyor belt is stopped until the police arrive and can remove the carry-on bag from the X-ray machine to safely secure the weapon,” explained John Essig, TSA’s federal security director for the airport. “Bringing a loaded firearm to a security checkpoint not only slows down the individuals in that lane, but it is also a security and safety concern. Guns should never be brought to the security checkpoint in carry-on luggage.”
It was the fourth firearm that TSA officers have detected at the airport’s checkpoints so far this year. In 2022, seven guns were removed from carry-on bags at JFK Airport.
Last year, 6,542 firearms were caught at 262 out of 430 airport security checkpoints nationwide. Eighty-eight percent of those guns were loaded.
This is a developing story. Check back to Daily Voice for updates.
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