Police: Loaded gun, ammunition found in woman's bag at Pittsburgh airport checkpoint

A loaded .380-caliber gun was found in a woman’s duffle bag at Pittsburgh International Airport on Thursday morning, Allegheny County Police said.

Federal Transportation Security Administration officers found it in an X-ray machine around 5:20 a.m. at the main security checkpoint and alerted county police.

The TSA said the black handgun with a gold-colored trigger was loaded with six bullets, including one in the chamber. She also was carrying an additional magazine with seven bullets and six more loose bullets in her carry-on bag.

The 25-year-old woman, who the TSA said is from from Brownsville, did not have a valid concealed carry permit, county police said. The FBI was notified.

County police did not identify the woman, who they said was being charged by summons. County police took the gun.

Passengers who bring firearms into an airport checkpoint can face federal civil fines from the TSA up to $10,000, county police said. Repeat offenders can be fined up to nearly $14,000.

“As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, travelers need to take an extra minute or two to get a good look inside their carry-on bags to ensure that they have no prohibited — or illegal — items,” said Karen Keys-Turner, TSA’s federal security director for the airport.

“Anything from an oversized liquid such as a bottle of water or energy drink to knives and guns need to be left at home,” she said. “The airport is getting back to near pre-pandemic travel volume and bringing a prohibited item to the checkpoint will not only delay your checkpoint experience, but it will also delay other travelers.”

A total of 32 guns have been caught at Pittsburgh International’s security checkpoints so far this year. That’s 11 more than the 21 caught in 2020, when there were fewer travelers because of the covid pandemic, and now only three short of tying the 35 caught in 2019, according to the TSA.