4-21-2023 7:34am

Man Caught With Gun, Bullets At JFK, TSA Says

Samantha Hespos Editor

Law enforcement officials apprehended a local resident for carrying a firearm and ammunition in his carry-on luggage at a security checkpoint in JFK airport when Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers discovered them.

On April 19, a citizen of Liberty, Sullivan County was accused of being in possession of an empty gun and a magazine containing five bullets, according to TSA authorities.

The New York New Jersey Port Authority has not yet disclosed the man's name.

Upon entering the security checkpoint with his carry-on items, the man was found to be carrying a handgun. An alarm was triggered by the X-ray unit, prompting security officials to conduct a closer inspection of the carry-on items. During this inspection, the firearm was discovered and removed, according to the TSA.

The man was arrested for possessing a gun after the Port Authority Police were informed by the TSA officer who had detected the weapon.

Officials were informed by the man that he had exclusively packed his own carry-on bag, and was completely unaware of how the gun and loaded gun magazine had ended up inside of it. Additionally, he declared that the gun was not his.

The man not only got arrested, but he is also confronted with a severe financial consequence enforced by the federal government. The TSA stated that the federal penalty for violating rules and bringing a weapon to an airport checkpoint can be as much as $15,000, depending on the situation.

According to John Essig, who is the TSA’s federal security director for the airport, during the busy spring travel season, if someone brings a firearm to the checkpoint, the conveyor belt is stopped until the police arrive to remove the carry-on bag containing the weapon from the X-ray machine to prevent any harm. Carrying a loaded firearm to a security checkpoint not only causes delays for the people in that line but also poses a threat to security and safety. Therefore, firearms must not be taken in carry-on luggage to the security checkpoint.

At the airport's checkpoints this year, TSA officers have found four firearms. Seven guns were confiscated from carry-on bags at JFK Airport in 2022.

In 2019, across 262 of the 430 security checkpoints present in airports across the nation, 6,542 firearms were seized. Of these weapons, 88% were found to be loaded.

This is a developing story