Screeners at Roanoke Regional Airport thought they saw a handgun going through the x-ray machine yesterday morning — and they were right. The Transportation Security Administration says the gun was packed inside a man’s carry-on baggage, and it was a loaded .38 caliber Ruger with six rounds. The TSA says airport officers were summoned, they confiscated the weapon, and they cited a Rocky Mount man on state weapons charges. His name is not being released. The man was ticketed for Atlanta.
(Continue reading for the full TSA news release.)
Here is the full Transpotration Security Administration news release:
A Rocky Mount, VA, man was cited on state weapons charges yesterday after Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at Roanoke Regional Airport (ROA) detected a loaded .38 caliber Ruger firearm loaded with six rounds in the man’s carry-on bag.
The alert TSA officer detected the gun as it passed through the x-ray machine at the checkpoint yesterday morning just before 7 a.m. The man was originally ticketed to fly to Atlanta.
TSA contacted the Roanoke Regional Airport Law Enforcement Officers, who regularly patrol the airport. The officers responded, confiscated the firearm and cited the man. There was no impact to airport operations.
As a reminder, weapons are not permitted in carry-on baggage. Passengers are responsible for the contents of bags they bring to the security checkpoint, and TSA’s advice to passengers is to look through bags thoroughly before coming to the airport to make sure there are no illegal or prohibited items.
Some weapons are permitted to be transported in checked baggage, but passengers should check with the airlines for proper procedures as well as checking into local laws before doing so.
Passengers can review the prohibited items list on the TSA homepage or they can download the free MyTSA application from the TSA homepage. The TSA web site and the MyTSA app have a “Can I Bring?” feature that allows users to type in items they plan to bring on a trip to get an explanation of TSA’s security policies for the item, including whether the item can be taken in carry-on luggage through the security checkpoint, packed in checked baggage, both, or neither. The mobile app is available to download for free at www.tsa.gov/mobile.
The Transportation Security Administration’s 40,000 Transportation Security Officers screened more than 603 million passengers at 450 airports across the country in 2011 and stopped more than 125,000 prohibited items at airport checkpoints. Of those items, more than 1,300 were firearms.
