More guns have been found at Logan Airport this year than in all of 2021
The number of guns detected this year has now tied the record set in 2018.
After a gun was found in a diaper bag at Logan International Airport on Tuesday, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) released data that says more guns have been found at Logan Airport this year than in all of 2021.
With more than three months remaining in the year, the TSA has detected 20 firearms at Logan Airport, surpassing last year’s total of 18 and tying the record number set in 2018.
TSA officers found a loaded 9mm firearm and a magazine with a total of 10 rounds in a woman’s diaper bag during a security screening early Tuesday morning. The woman is a petty officer in the Coast Guard who was traveling to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, according to the TSA, and Massachusetts State Police took possession of the firearm and issued the passenger a summons.
“Even if you have a valid permit to carry, there are proper procedures passengers still have follow in order to travel with a firearm,” Bob Allison, the federal security director for TSA in Massachusetts, said in a statement. “Carelessly traveling with a loaded firearm is dangerous and a public safety concern, considering it could accidentally be discharged during a search. Gun owners need to ensure they know where their firearm is before traveling to the airport.”
Passengers may travel with an unloaded firearm in checked baggage in a locked hardback case with the ammunition packed separately, according to the TSA, and the passenger must declare the firearm at the airline’s check-in counter.
A typical first offense for carrying a loaded gun through a checkpoint is $4,100 and can be as much as $13,669 depending on the circumstances, noted the TSA.
“This applies to travelers with or without concealed gun carry permits because even though an individual may have a concealed carry permit, it does not allow for a firearm to be carried onto an airplane,” according to the TSA.
There have been a total of 28 firearm detections at security checkpoints across New England in 2022: 20 at Logan Airport, three at Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport, two at Bradley International Airport, two at Bangor International Airport, and one at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport.
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