TSA detected record number of guns in carry-on luggage last year

The feds found 6,542 guns in luggage last year, the Transportation Security Administration announced Monday.

The agency already knew it was collecting a record-breaking number of firearms back in mid-December, when it reported stopping 6,301 firearms and predicted the figure would land at 6,600 by year’s end. The actual number turned out to be a hair under that, but still a 10% increase over the previous year, the TSA said.

The final number also did not change the percentage of those that were considered loaded — meaning the passenger had access to both gun and ammo — which was nearly 90%.

That amounts to about 18 weapons caught per day and is an all-time high, TSA officials said.

“What we see in our checkpoints really reflects what we’re seeing in society, and in society there are more people carrying firearms nowadays,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said.

In 2010, just 1,123 firearms were discovered, according to TSA figures.

Most passengers claim they forgot to leave guns out of their bags. But finding guns in luggage holds up the line for everyone, since weapons must be halted and police summoned while the bag’s inside the X-ray machine, to prevent the passenger from accessing it.

It’s against federal law to transport guns into an airport’s “sterile area” intentionally. Last year, the TSA increased the maximum fine to $14,950 for guns found in luggage. The offense also costs passengers their PreCheck status, which allows them to bypass most screening, for five years. In addition, depending on the situation and local laws, a passenger could end up arrested.

“Firearms are prohibited in carry-on bags at the checkpoint and onboard aircraft,” Pekoske said in December. “When a passenger brings a firearm to the checkpoint, this consumes significant security resources and poses a potential threat to transportation security, in addition to being very costly for the passenger.”

While firearms possession laws differ vary by state and locality, they are never permitted in carry-on bags. That’s whether the passenger has a permit to carry a concealed weapon or not, the TSA said.

The bigger the airport, the more likely it is to happen, Pekoske said, with the top 10 cities last year being Dallas, Austin and Houston in Texas, plus three Florida airports, as well as Nashville, Atlanta, Phoenix and Denver.

With News Wire Services