Record 41st gun seized at Pittsburgh International Airport checkpoint, TSA says

Allegheny County Police arrested a Pittsburgh man on Wednesday after authorities said he brought a loaded gun to Pittsburgh International Airport.

Transportation Security Administration officers’ move to confiscate the .380-caliber handgun, which was loaded with six bullets, brings the total number of guns caught at the airport’s checkpoints this year to 41, six more than the previous record of 35, spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said.

County police spokesman Jim Madalinsky declined to name the traveler or provide any other details on Thursday.

“Charges will be filed,” Madalinsky said. “We’ll release additional details when appropriate.”

Karen Keys-Turner, TSA’s federal security director for the Findlay airport, reminded travelers that “responsible gun owners do not bring their guns to a checkpoint.”

“They know the proper way to pack a firearm for a flight,” Keys-Turner said. “There is absolutely no excuse for bringing a gun to a checkpoint.”

Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms only in checked baggage if they are unloaded and packed in a hard-sided locked case, Farbstein said. The locked case should be taken to the airline check-in counter to be declared.

TSA has confiscated 41 guns at Pittsburgh International Airport this year, up from 26 in 2022 and 32 in 2021, Farbstein said. The previous record-high number — 35 guns — was hit in 2019.

Nationwide, TSA officers caught 6,542 firearms at checkpoints last year, a new record, Farbstein said. The agency is on track in 2023 to surpass that record.