RICHMOND, Va. — The Transportation Security Administration said that it prevented a Virginia woman from carrying a loaded handgun onto a flight departing from Richmond International Airport.
The TSA said in a press release Sunday that the incident occurred Friday and involved a woman from Midlothian in Chesterfield County. The agency said the gun was among her carry-on items and was detected by an X-ray machine.
Police confiscated the handgun and cited the woman. The agency did not identify her.
The TSA said she faces a "stiff federal financial civil penalty" that can stretch into thousands of dollars.
According to the TSA, it detected more than 3,200 firearms on passengers or their carry-on bags at checkpoints across the country last year.
