When a Texas man got caught with a loaded firearm at the Pittsburgh International Airport security checkpoint on Halloween, he turned gun shy.
He didn’t know he had the handgun with him, he explained.
It’s a common refrain among those who end up being detained at security checkpoints after U.S. Transportation Security Administration officers spot a handgun in their bags, backpacks, purses or carry-ons. They just forgot they were packing heat — in the very literal sense. In terms of excuses, absent-mindedness tops the list.
“It always comes down to forgetting that it’s been in that bag,” said Allegheny County Police Inspector Bill Palmer.
One who finds that a bit unnerving is TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein.
“It’s fairly perplexing that someone would claim they didn’t know. If you don’t know where your gun is and you suddenly need it, you’re out of luck,” she said. “If you own a firearm, you need to know where it is at all times.”
Such memory lapses can be costly.
For a first offense, the typical fine for carrying a firearm into a checkpoint — a violation of federal law — is $4,100, according to the TSA. The agency has the authority to assess penalties of up to $13,333 for weapons violations.
Those found to have a gun at the checkpoint — whether in a bag, purse, backpack or other type of carry-on — also could face criminal prosecution at the federal level, although that has been rare in the Pittsburgh region.
Of the 33 people stopped so far at Pittsburgh International this year, none has been prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s office, which has jurisdiction over such cases.
The office has not prosecuted any cases in recent years, spokeswoman Margaret Philbin said.
But those who avoid prosecution at the federal level could still face state charges, usually a misdemeanor, if they don’t have a permit to carry a concealed weapon, Inspector Palmer said.
Of the travelers stopped at the checkpoint this year, four have been charged with that offense, he said. They could face up to five years in jail.
Forgetfulness is not the only reason that travelers give when TSA officers find a handgun in their bag.
A variation of that is the traveler used the same bag he or she took to the shooting range as a carry-on, apparently forgetting that the weapon was still in there.
“I think it would be a bad habit to take the same bag you use at the range as a carry-on, but it does happen,” Inspector Palmer said.
Another common excuse, Ms. Farbstein said, is that a spouse or loved one packed the bag for the traveler.
Not that Inspector Palmer finds that particularly compelling either. “There’s never been a good excuse in my opinion,” he said.
Once a gun is discovered at the checkpoint by the TSA, the county police are called. The TSA does not handle the weapons.
The police will search the bag, remove the weapon, and interview the traveler. At times, the FBI will do its own interview with the passenger. In other cases, it will rely on the county police report, Inspector Palmer said. The FBI then decides whether the matter is turned over to the U.S. Attorney’s office for prosecution.
Inspector Palmer said those who are caught typically are contrite.
“It’s never been the case that they’re about to do something dubious with a firearm on an airplane,” he said. “They’re usually shocked and appalled that they’ve done this.”
Both men and women have been stopped at the checkpoint for having weapons in their carry-ons. In the majority of the cases, the guns are loaded, Inspector Palmer said.
He did not find that surprising, given that many travelers carry guns for protection. Others provide protection for others.
Still, that “doesn’t excuse you for not knowing where your firearm is,” he stressed.
The majority of the guns found are revolvers or semi-automatic weapons. If the traveler is not prosecuted, the gun no longer is considered evidence and is returned to the owner.
Frightful day
With 33 firearms caught at the checkpoint this year, Pittsburgh International has exceeded the number found in all of 2017 and is only one behind the 34 discovered last year.
The airport beat the 2017 number last Wednesday when a West Virginia woman was caught with a .380 caliber handgun loaded with seven bullets in her carry-on.
She forgot she had it, according to the TSA.
Halloween proved to be a frightful day for the TSA.
Not only was the Texas man caught with a loaded handgun at Pittsburgh International, a Monroeville man was detained at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Latrobe after TSA officers found one in his carry-on.
According to the TSA, Westmoreland County Police confiscated the 9 mm caliber handgun and questioned the traveler before allowing him to return the weapon to his vehicle.
The incident marked the fourth time this year that a gun has been found at the Arnold Palmer security checkpoint. “One gun is too many for an airport the size of Latrobe,” Ms. Farbstein said.
Nationwide, 4,239 firearms were found in carry-ons at checkpoints in 2018, the most recent year statistics were available. That’s 7% more than in 2017, or an average of 11.6 guns a day, according to the TSA.
When a gun is found at an airport checkpoint, it not only affects the traveler involved, Ms. Farbstein noted. Work stops at that X-ray machine and people have to be moved to another lane or wait until the situation is resolved.
“It jams up the traveling party and everybody behind them,” she said.
In his eight years with the county police at Pittsburgh airport, including three at the helm, Inspector Palmer has heard a lot of excuses from those caught with guns at the checkpoint.
For someone who gets paranoid wondering whether he might have left just a stray bullet in a bag, it’s lost on him how someone could forget he or she has a handgun in a carry-on.
“It’s inexplicable but it happens,” Inspector Palmer said. “It’s almost unbelievable.”
Mark Belko: mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262.
First Published: November 18, 2019, 1:30 p.m.
