A Hellertown woman was arrested at Newark Liberty International Airport Wednesday after she tried to bring a loaded handgun through a security checkpoint, officials with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said.
TSA officials say a Hellertown woman attempted to bring this handgun through a security checkpoint at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. According to a news release, the gun was loaded at the time. (Credit: Transportation Security Administration)
According to a TSA news release, the .22 caliber handgun was inside the woman’s purse, which she said she rarely uses and meant to “hand…off to her husband before she and her daughter arrived at the airport for their flight.”
The release said the woman claims she “forgot to do so.”
When the woman passed through a checkpoint X-ray machine, the gun was detected and Port Authority Police were alerted, TSA officials said. The woman–who was not named in the release–was then arrested.
“This was a very good catch on the part of our officers to detect such a small handgun,” said Thomas Carter, TSA’s Federal Security Director for New Jersey, in a statement. “When individuals bring their firearms to our checkpoints, it represents a risk to everyone in the area and slows down the checkpoint screening process for everyone.”
“This woman did not have a permit to carry the firearm,” Carter said. “With that said, even individuals with a permit are not permitted to carry their firearm through a checkpoint.”
Authorities said the woman also faces a civil penalty that could include a fine of up to $15,000.
Guns can legally be transported on flights, however they must be unloaded, packed in a locked, hard-sided suitcase and declared to the airline. Guns that are packed in this manner and declared will are only transported in checked baggage stowed in the baggage section of the plane, and are never permitted in the plane’s cabin, the TSA news release said.
According to the news release, the woman’s weapon was the eighth gun intercepted at a TSA checkpoint at Newark Liberty International Airport so far this year.
“Travelers need to pay more attention to the items that they have inside their carry-on bags,” Carter said. “Travelers are responsible for the contents of their carry-on bags. In addition, responsible gun owners know where their firearms are at all times and they know not to bring them to a security checkpoint.”
Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until or unless proven guilty. This story was compiled using information from the Transportation Security Administration.