NORFOLK, Va. – A woman was stopped at the Norfolk International Airport security checkpoint on Tuesday after she left her loaded handgun in her purse.
A Transportation Security Administration officer staffing the checkpoint X-ray machine detected the gun and ammunition as the woman was passing through the checkpoint.
TSA officers immediately contacted the Norfolk Airport Authority Police, which responded to the checkpoint.
The woman, a Norfolk resident, told officials that she forgot she had her loaded .357 caliber handgun in her purse.
Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms in checked baggage if they are unloaded, packed in a hard-side case, locked, and packed separately from ammunition. Then the firearm must be taken to the airline check-in counter.
Tuesday’s incident marked the 11th gun that TSA officers detected at the airport so far this calendar year. There were 13 guns caught by TSA officers at the airport’s checkpoints in 2015.
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