A Virginia man was cited by airport police on a weapons charge after Transportation Security Administration officers stopped him from bringing a loaded gun past the security checkpoint at the Norfolk International Airport checkpoint on August 13, 2014, according to TSA officials.
TSA officers detected the 9mm caliber firearm, which was loaded with seven rounds, including one in the chamber, in the Virginia Beach resident’s carry-on bag as he was passing through the airport checkpoint.
The TSA officer who was staffing the checkpoint X-ray machine detected the handgun inside the traveler’s carry-on bag as it passed along the conveyor belt, according to the TSA.
TSA officers contacted the Norfolk Airport Authority Police, who responded to the checkpoint, confiscated the firearm, and cited the man on a state weapons charge.
There was no impact to airport operations.
It was the seventh gun that TSA officers have caught at the checkpoint so far this year, they say. TSA screens approximately 44,000 passengers per week at Norfolk.
