The Transportation Security Administration found four firearms in the past five days at Pittsburgh International Airport security checkpoints.
Three of the four people carrying the firearms have been arrested by Allegheny County Police. Gordon Vietmeier, of Pittsburgh; Jacob Huckabay of Westcliffe, Colo.; and Paul O’Brien, of Pittsburgh, all face charges for carrying a firearm without a license.
The fourth man, who was not identified, possessed a valid carry permit when TSA officials found a handgun in his backpack on Monday.
The incidents are not related.
“The majority of people tell us they forgot they had the gun,” TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein told the Tribune-Review. “They all seem to know where their cellphone is, (but) they just don’t know where their deadly weapon is.
”Responsible gun owners know where their firearms are at all times, and they know not to bring them to security checkpoints.”
County police have confiscated the weapons. Those who are in possession of a firearm at an airport security checkpoint could face TSA civil penalties up to $13,910.
When a traveler brings a gun to the airport checkpoint, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania requests county sheriffs to rescind a resident’s firearm concealed carry license because of negligence, Farbstein said.
TSA officers have caught 22 guns at the airport so far this year. In 2021, 32 firearms were confiscated, up from 21 in 2020, according to TSA statistics.
Nationwide, TSA officers detected nearly 6,000 firearms on passengers or their carry-on bags at checkpoints last year. About 86% of the guns TSA officers caught were loaded, Farbstein said.
