A Pennsylvania man was arrested by police at Newark Liberty International Airport on Thanksgiving Day after Transportation Security Administration agents found a loaded handgun in his carry-on bag.
The unknown man had a 9 mm pistol with 13 bullets, including one in the chamber, in his carry-on luggage.
“To be caught and arrested for carrying a loaded gun in our airport means that this man had a pretty bad Thanksgiving … Not only was this man arrested, but he now faces a stiff federal financial civil penalty that could be thousands of dollars,” said Thomas Carter, director of federal security for TSA New Jersey.
It was the third such arrest in Newark this month and the 14th of the year, setting a record for annual handgun seizures with a month to go in 2022, the TSA said.
The previous two November detentions took place one after the other — on November 16 and 17, 2022.
On November 16, a resident of the state of Indiana was arrested when disassembled parts of a gun and 15 bullets were found in two of his carry-on bags. The man claimed his car was stolen and tried to fly home, unaware that gun parts are also prohibited, according to the TSA release.
On Nov. 17, an Illinois man was stopped while trying to board a plane with a 9mm handgun loaded with 12 bullets, including one in the chamber, and a nine-inch hunting knife, the TSA said.
