CHARLESTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – A Raleigh County, W.Va., man was cited by police on Saturday, April 26, after Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at West Virginia International Yeager Airport (CRW) intercepted the man’s gun at the airport security checkpoint. The 9mm handgun was loaded with five bullets, including one in the chamber.
TSA officials notified the police, who confiscated the weapon and removed the man, a resident of Daniels, W.Va., from the checkpoint for questioning. Police confiscated the gun and cited him on a criminal charge.
It was the second firearm that TSA officers have intercepted at the checkpoint so far this year. In 2024, TSA officers detected six guns.
“If you want to travel with your gun, it needs to be unloaded, packed in a locked hard-sided case and taken to your airline check-in counter so that it is transported in the underbelly of the aircraft,” said John Allen, TSA’s Federal Security Director for West Virginia. “This way nobody has access to it during the flight. The man now faces a federal civil financial penalty for bringing his gun to the checkpoint.”
Bringing a gun to an airport checkpoint carries a federal civil penalty because TSA reserves the right to issue a civil penalty to travelers who have guns and gun parts with them at a checkpoint. Civil penalties for bringing a weapon into a checkpoint can reach up to $15,000, depending on the specific weapon and the circumstances. The complete list of civil penalties is posted online.
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. This also applies to travelers who are enrolled in the TSA PreCheck® program, who will lose their TSA PreCheck privileges if they bring a gun to a checkpoint.
When a gun is detected in the checkpoint X-ray unit, the conveyor belt is stopped, and the police are notified. Police remove the carry-on bag from the X-ray unit because TSA does not want its officers handling firearms. Police determine whether a traveler is arrested or issued a criminal citation. Meanwhile the remaining passengers in the checkpoint lane either wait for the issue to be resolved or they are shifted to another checkpoint lane, thus delaying dozens of passengers from getting to their gates.
Firearm possession laws vary by state and locality and passengers should do their homework to make sure that they are not violating any local firearm laws. Travelers should also contact their airline as they may have additional requirements for traveling with firearms and ammunition.
