Police: Missouri man arrested at Pittsburgh airport with loaded gun didn't have permit

A Missouri man was arrested at Pittsburgh International Airport after TSA officers found a loaded handgun in his carry-on bag at the security checkpoint, according to the Transportation Security Administration.

Donnell Whitcancek, 59, of Garden City, was arrested and charged with a firearms violation because he didn’t have a valid concealed weapons permit for his .357 revolver, Allegheny County Police said.

The gun was spotted by a TSA officer in Whitcancek’s carry-on bag as it entered the checkpoint X-ray machine shortly before 11 a.m. Thursday , officials said. It was loaded with six bullets.

TSA contacted the police, who responded to the checkpoint, confiscated the gun and detained Whitcancek for questioning. He was released on his own recognizance after arraignment. The gun remains with police.

This was the fourth gun caught at the airport checkpoint so far this year, officials said.

A Florida woman was arrested earlier this week after she was caught with a stolen handgun in her carry-on bag at the checkpoint. That gun was also loaded, and had been stolen in Hopewell, Beaver County, in 2017, officials said.

TSA officers found two other handguns at the checkpoint on Jan. 11 and Jan. 13.