NORFOLK, Va. — Author's note: The video above is on file from a separate story about a TSA gun announcement on March 10, 2022.
A man from Virginia Beach was arrested on April 9 after attempting to take a loaded handgun through a security checkpoint at Norfolk International Airport.
A statement from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said that officers were alerted of the gun, which was a 9 mm caliber handgun with nine bullets in total and one in the chamber, after it triggered their x-ray unit.
They then arrested the man and charged him with a weapons violation. He stated that he had forgotten that he had his loaded gun on him.
“Forgetting that you have a loaded handgun in your possession is a careless mistake to make, especially when you are headed to the airport for a flight,” said Robin Burke, the TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport.
“The regulation preventing the carrying of guns onto planes has been in place for decades, so this is nothing new.”
If you want to travel with a firearm, the TSA has a page on their website that lists the requirements and rules that must be followed. Restrictions include unloading them, properly packing them in checked baggage separate from their ammunition and informing the airline check-in counter.
So far in 2022, five guns have been seized at security checkpoints at Norfolk International. In 2021, officers at ORF seized 23 guns in total.