TSA agents found a loaded gun in carry-on luggage at Logan Airport this week, marking the second gun recovered within six days.
A 36-year-old man was arrested Monday after a .380 caliber Kel-Tec pistol was found in his carry-on luggage.
Agents found the gun around 8:45 a.m. The man was at Logan to board a flight to Pittsburgh.
Along with a bullet in the chamber, officials found three loaded magazines in the carry-on luggage.
The security administration announced the finding and arrest on Wednesday. This follows another report from the agency within the last week in which a loaded firearm was recovered.
“Dangerous and prohibited items can cause delays at the security checkpoint,” TSA spokesman Michael McCarthy said in a statement on Wednesday. “Passengers are solely responsible for the contents of their luggage and should double-check all bags before arriving at the airport to avoid such incidents.”
The first incident occurred on Aug. 2. TSA officers saw a loaded 9mm firearm in a passenger’s carry-on luggage as it was being screened at the security checkpoint. That passenger was headed to St. Louis.
TSA immediately notified Massachusetts State Police, who responded to the security checkpoint to take the gun and interview the passenger, who was later identified as 28-year-old Kyle Maguire of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, according to WBZ.
Passengers who bring firearms through airport security checkpoints are referred to law enforcement, who may apply criminal penalties, according to the TSA.
The security agency itself imposes penalties “ranging from $1,500 to $7,000 for a single violation of a firearm brought to a security checkpoint.”
So far this year, a total of five firearms have been found in carry-on luggage at Logan Airport security checkpoints.
Nationwide, that number continues to rise, according to the TSA. In 2015, agents detected more than 2,650 firearms. In 2016, that number rose to more than 3,390 firearms recovered at security checkpoints across the country.
