Man caught with loaded gun at Pittsburgh International Airport security checkpoint

A Venango County man was caught Wednesday with a loaded gun at the Pittsburgh International Airport.

Transportation Security Administration officers found a .22-caliber gun loaded with 10 bullets in his carry-on bag.

The man, who officials didn’t name, was stopped at the security checkpoint. Allegheny County Police responded to the checkpoint, confiscated the firearm and detained the man, who is from Kennerdell, for questioning.

This is the fifth gun caught at the checkpoint in 2019. In 2018, TSA officers caught 34 firearms at the checkpoint, up from 32 in 2017.

Last year, 4,239 guns were discovered in carry-on bags at checkpoints across the country, an average of about 11.6 per day and a 7 percent increase from the 3,957 detected in 2017.

Of the guns found at TSA checkpoints last year, 86 percent were loaded and nearly 34 percent had a bullet in the chamber.

People who bring firearms to the checkpoint are subject to possible criminal charges from law enforcement. Travelers with concealed-carry permits are not allowed to bring guns past TSA checkpoints.

For details on how to properly travel with a firearm, visit the TSA website.