PORTLAND, Maine — A loaded firearm was discovered in a man's carry-on bag at Portland International Jetport on Thursday.
Transportation Security Administration officers said it was the second firearm of the year detected at the Portland airport, a news release from TSA said Friday.
TSA officers reportedly notified Portland police of the firearm, and police confirmed the 60-year-old Mississippi man brought a loaded 9mm firearm, as well as eight rounds, in his carry-on backpack, according to the release.
The man did have a firearms permit and was allowed to check the firearm, TSA said.
"After questioning, police escorted the man to the ticket counter to properly check his firearm with the airline," the release said.
"When an individual shows up at a checkpoint with a firearm it can slow or shut down security screening until the police resolve the incident," Oscar De Los Reyes, TSA’s federal security director for Maine, said in the release. "Loaded firearms at TSA security checkpoints present an unacceptable safety and security risk to other passengers."
The agency said this was the fourth firearm detected at a Maine airport so far this year, and the sixteenth in New England.
The two other firearms discovered this year at a Maine airport were at the Bangor International Airport.
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