12th gun of 2022 seized at Pittsburgh airport security checkpoint

A loaded handgun was confiscated from a Washington County man after it was found in his carry-on luggage at Pittsburgh International Airport over the weekend, according to Transportation Security Administration officials.

The gun, belonging to an Avella man who TSA officials did not identify, was spotted Saturday at a security checkpoint, the TSA said.

It was the 12th gun officers found at the airport’s checkpoints so far in 2022. It was loaded with eight bullets, officials said.

The traveler faces a potential civil penalty of thousands of dollars, according to Karen Keys-Turner, the TSA’s airport federal security director.

Air travelers must leave firearms in checked baggage. Guns are required to be unloaded and locked in a hard-sided case separate from ammunition, according to federal law.

Anyone who is caught with a gun at a security checkpoint can face a civil penalty of up to $13,900. Local residents who bring guns to the airport can have their concealed carry permit rescinded for negligence, if federal authorities make such a request of a county sheriff’s department.

The highest number of guns seized at the airport’s security checkpoints in the past five years came in 2019 with 35, according to TSA statistics. Last year, 32 were confiscated.

Nationwide, nearly 6,000 firearms were detected at security checkpoints in 2021. The majority of those found so far in 2022 have been loaded, officials said.