The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) seized a record number of firearms at airports across the country in 2023, the agency announced Wednesday.
TSA agents intercepted 6,737 firearms over the last year, surpassing the previous year’s record of 6,542 firearms stopped at TSA checkpoints. The agency also noted nearly 93 percent of the confiscated firearms were loaded.
“We are still seeing far too many firearms at TSA checkpoints, and what’s particularly concerning is the amount of them loaded, presenting an unnecessary risk to everyone at the TSA checkpoint,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said in a statement.
“Firearms and ammunition are strictly prohibited in carry-on baggage. Passengers are only allowed to travel with an unloaded firearm, and only if they pack it properly in a locked, hard-sided case in their checked baggage and first declare it to the airline at the check-in counter,” he added.
Those caught with a firearm are reported to local law enforcement. In addition, they can be fined a civil penalty up to $15,000, have TSA PreCheck eligibility revoked for at least five years and may be subject to “enhanced screening to ensure there are no other threats present.”