EVERETT — Twice this week, authorities at Paine Field found loaded guns in travelers’ carry-on bags during routine X-ray screenings.
On Wednesday, Transportation Security Administration officers detected the image of a pistol in the carry-on bag of a traveler bound for Los Angeles. The SCCY CPX-2 was loaded with 10 rounds of ammunition, the agency said in a statement.
The next day, authorities found a second firearm, a Ruger EC9, in a traveler’s carry-on bag. The pistol held four rounds, the agency said.
In both cases, TSA agents notified the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies removed the guns from the X-ray tunnel and detained the travelers.
Each traveler was eventually permitted to continue on their travels, the agency said.
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport also reported a brisk run this week on firearms, including a grenade.
On Tuesday, Sea-Tac officials discovered three loaded firearms in the carry-on bags of three passengers. That same day, they also uncovered a grenade in a traveler’s bag.
In a statement Friday, Greg Hawko, the TSA’s federal security director for Washington, called this week’s gun tally at Puget Sound’s two major airports “alarming.”
“It is especially concerning since firearms have never been allowed in carry-on luggage, yet we are seeing travelers being careless and bringing them to the security checkpoint,” Hawko said. “Let me say in the strongest terms possible: stop bringing your firearms to the airport unless you have packed them properly to travel in checked baggage.”
Last year, officials intercepted seven guns at Paine Field. This year’s total, through Thursday, is four.
To date this year, TSA officers have found more than 2,600 firearms at U.S. airports. More than 90% were loaded.
Firearms are sometimes an oversight by passengers who forget they’re packing a weapon. Travelers grab the same bag they took on a car, train or hunting trip and forget to remove the firearm, a TSA spokesperson told The Daily Herald last year.
On top of potential criminal charges for bringing a firearm in carry-on luggage, TSA can levy a civil penalty of up to $14,950 against the traveler. Each incident is evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
Guns can be transported only if unloaded, packed in a locked, hard-sided case and placed in checked baggage after being declared at the ticket counter. Ammunition and firearm parts, including frames, receivers, clips and magazines, are also prohibited in carry-on baggage and must be checked. The same goes for firearm replicas.
Even with a concealed weapons permit, firearms are not permitted in carry-on luggage. Those who violate firearm rules will have Trusted Traveler status and PreCheck screening benefits revoked for at least five years.
Unsure what you can bring on an airplane? TSA has a “What Can I Bring” feature on its website or mobile app, myTSA.
Janice Podsada: 425-339-3097; jpodsada@heraldnet.com;
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