NORFOLK, Va. – A Virginia Beach man carrying a loaded gun was stopped by Transportation Security Administration officers at Norfolk International Airport on Friday morning as he attempted to pass through the security checkpoint.
TSA officers manning the checkpoint X-ray machine detected the gun as it passed along the conveyor belt inside the man’s bag. TSA officers immediately contacted the Norfolk Airport Authority Police, which responded to the checkpoint.
The 9mm Ruger handgun was loaded with eight bullets, including one in the chamber.
It marked the 12th 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.
There is a right way to travel with a firearm and a wrong way. The wrong way is to bring it to a checkpoint. 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.
