CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Authorities said a West Virginia man was caught with a loaded handgun in a security checkpoint at Pittsburgh International Airport. It was the third time in a week that a firearm was caught at the airport.
Allegheny County Police officers confiscated the gun and questioned the man from Buckhannon, West Virginia, on Tuesday, The Transportation Security Administration said. Seven bullets were found in his backpack.
An Allegheny Police spokesman said charges were not filed. The TSA said it does not release names of passengers.
Fliers can travel with firearms in checked baggage if stored properly and declared at an airline ticket counter. Civil penalties for turning up to a security checkpoint with a gun can go as high as $13,669, TSA said.
At the same airport, a loaded handgun and 15 bullets were confiscated on Sept. 2. Two days later another firearm was also caught.