CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. (WKBW) — Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials say a Brockport man had a loaded handgun in his carry-on bag at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport Monday.
A TSA officer spotted the .22 caliber handgun on the X-ray monitor as the carry-on bag entered the machine, according to officials. NFTA police responded and took possession of the gun and cited the man.
Officials say the man claimed he lost his loaded gun four years ago and did not realize it was in his bag.
“Claiming that you did not know you had a loaded gun with you when you arrive at the airport is no excuse,” said Bart R. Johnson, TSA’s Federal Security Director for Upstate New York. “If you own a firearm, you need to know where it is at all times. This individual now faces a stiff Federal financial civil penalty.”
The TSA can issue a civil penalty of $4,100 to $13,669, depending on any mitigating circumstances, for the first offense of carrying a loaded handgun into a checkpoint.
"This applies to travelers with or without concealed gun carry permits because even though an individual may have a concealed carry permit, it does not allow for a firearm to be carried onto an airplane," the TSA said in a release.
Last year 4,432 firearms were discovered in carry-on bags across the country.
