Photos from the TSA of guns recovered this year at the airport.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - TSA agents have stopped 40 guns at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport checkpoints through the first nine months of 2024, officials say.
What we know
The detections put MSP Airport at about the same pace as 2023 for gun detections, when 53 firearms were discovered for the year.
Context
Nationwide, agents have recovered 5,028 firearms at checkpoints during the first nine months of the year.
That means agents are finding more than 18 guns per day at checkpoints. Of those guns, nearly all, 93%, are loaded.
What to know
The TSA is again urging people to be more diligent about bringing weapons in their luggage.
"TSA is committed to keeping travelers, our officers, and airport employees safe, and the number of firearms being discovered at airport security checkpoints remains a significant challenge," said TSA Administrator David Pekoske. "Each firearm brought to a checkpoint, whether by accident or on purpose, presents a threat to other passengers and our employees, and causes delays for the traveler with the firearm. Passengers who travel with a firearm must store it unloaded in a locked, hard-sided case, place it in their checked bag, and declare it to the airline at the airline ticket counter. We cannot stress enough the importance of ensuring firearms are secured properly in the passenger’s checked bag and never brought to the security checkpoint."
To travel with a firearm, officials say it must be:
- Secured in their checked baggage.
- Packed unloaded.
- Locked in a hard-sided case.
- Declared to the airline when checking the bag at the airline ticket counter.