ROANOKE, Va. – Officers stopped an Allegany County man from taking a loaded handgun on a plane on Monday at the Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport, according to the TSA.
During a TSA checkpoint, officials detected a gun inside of the man’s carry-on bag, prompting them to alert airport police. When police arrived at the checkpoint, officers confiscated the gun and arrested the man.
Officials said the 9mm handgun was loaded with 16 bullets, including one in the chamber.
TSA said flyers can travel with firearms as long as it’s in their checked baggage, unloaded, packed into a hard-sided case, locked and packed separately from ammunition. The firearm must also be declared at the airline ticket counter.
This is the first firearm caught by TSA officials at the Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport in 2021.