TSA stops Florida man with handgun at T.F. Green Airport

WARWICK, R.I. (WLNE) – TSA officers at T.F. Green International Airport arrested a Florida man after they found a .22 caliber handgun in his carry-on bag at the security checkpoint.

TSA says this marks the third gun caught at the airport’s checkpoint in 2019 and the second gun caught within the last two weeks. 

In 2018, TSA detected four firearms at the airport’s checkpoint.

“TSA officers, who spotted the gun in the checkpoint X-ray machine, contacted the airport police, who arrived at the checkpoint, confiscated the gun and detained the man, a resident of Indian River County, Florida, for questioning before arresting him on weapons charges,” a TSA spokesperson said in a statement. 

The man told TSA officers that he had no idea how the handgun came to be in his possession, according to TSA. 

TSA wants to remind travelers with concealed firearm permits are not allowed to bring guns onto airplanes.

In 2019, 4,239 firearms were discovered in carry-on bags at checkpoints across the country, averaging about 11.6 firearms per day. 

That was approximately a 7% increase nationally in firearm discoveries from the total of 3,957 detected in 2017.

Eighty-six percent of firearms detected at checkpoints last year were loaded and nearly 34% had a bullet in the chamber, according to TSA.