A man with a .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun in his carry-on bag was arrested at Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport on Monday — marking the seventh time this year officers have seized a firearm at the airport's checkpoint.
The Transportation Security Administration said in a news release Tuesday that officers staffing the checkpoint X-ray machines detected the handgun, which was loaded with eight rounds of ammunition, inside a Hidden Valley, Pa. resident's carry-on bag.
Officers contacted the Maryland Transportation Authority Police, who confiscated the firearm and arrested the man, TSA officials said.
The man was arrested on a state weapons charge. Passengers caught with firearms at checkpoints are subject to charges of up to $11,000, according to the TSA.
Transportation Security Administration officers have detected more than 1,400 firearms at checkpoints nationwide this calendar year. Last year, officers detected 1,813 guns at airport checkpoints, officials said.
