PORTLAND, Maine — A woman from Minot was caught with a 9mm handgun, loaded with six bullets, at Portland International Jetport on Wednesday, October 30.
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at the airport stopped the woman from bringing the loaded gun onto an airplane.
TSA officers say they spotted the gun when the woman's purse went through the checkpoint X-ray machine.
They contacted the airport police who confiscated the gun and detained the woman for questioning.
The woman reportedly told officials she had forgotten that she had her loaded gun with her. The gun was tucked into an outer pocket of the purse. It marked the first gun that TSA officers in Portland have detected so far this year.
TSA officials say passengers are permitted to travel with firearms only in checked baggage if they are properly packaged and declared. Firearms must be unloaded, packed in a hard-sided case, locked, and packed separately from ammunition. Firearm possession laws vary by state and locality.
According to the TSA, last year 4,239 firearms were discovered in carry-on bags at checkpoints across the country, averaging about 11.6 firearms per day.
The TSA says that is approximately a 7 percent increase nationally in firearm discoveries from a total of 3,957 detected in 2017. Eight-six percent of firearms detected at checkpoints last year were loaded, and 34 percent had a bullet in the chamber.
The TSA is using the incident to remind people who bring firearms to the checkpoint that they are subject to possible criminal charges from law enforcement. Even travelers with concealed firearm permits are not allowed to bring guns onto airplanes in their carry-on bags.
