QUEENS, N.Y. — A Greenwich woman is facing weapons charges after the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said she tried carrying a loaded handgun through a security checkpoint.
The incident happened at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on Friday. TSA officials said the woman was not ticketed to fly and instead had earlier received a "gate pass" to accompany her child through the checkpoint and to their flight gate.
However, she was stopped from doing so after TSA officers detected the .222 caliber gun. The gun, officials said, was loaded with nine bullets, including one in the chamber.
The gun was spotted as the woman entered the security checkpoint. The X-ray unit alerted to the carry-on bag. When officers inspected further, the gun was removed by Port Authority Police, who then arrested the woman on weapons charges.
In addition to being arrested, she also faces a financial penalty for bringing a gun to a TSA security y checkpoint and may pay a maximum of $15,000.
“Our TSA team at JFK perform their jobs exceptionally well with a keen focus to our mission,” said John Essig, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport. “When dangerous items such as loaded guns are brought to a security checkpoint, it represents a serious safety concern. When a bullet is in the chamber of the firearm, it is an accident waiting to happen. Nobody is permitted to carry a firearm through a checkpoint—not a gate pass holder, not someone with a concealed weapons permit, not a traveler.”
TSA officials said it's the first gun that officers detected at JFK so far in 2023. In 2022, officers prevented seven guns from getting through checkpoints, all loaded.
Nationally, over 6,500 guns were caught at 262 security checkpoints, with 85% of them being loaded, the TSA said.
As a reminder, passengers can travel with guns in checked baggage. Firearms must be unloaded and then packed inside a hard-sided, locked case. The case should be taken to the airline check-in counter to be declared.
Learn more on how to travel properly with a gun on the TSA website.
Jennifer Glatz is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jglatz@fox61.com.
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