A loaded .357 handgun was found in a carry-on bag at Sea-Tac International Airport on Saturday afternoon. It was the 23rd weapon found at a Sea-Tac security checkpoint this year, officials said.
The man who was carrying the .357 was trying to board a flight to Las Vegas. The gun had six rounds of ammunition and one in the chamber, Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Lorie Dankers said.
Two days before the Saturday incident, a passenger going to Minneapolis was found with a loaded handgun in a carry-on bag.
"We're not talking incidents that were potential threats," Sea-Tac spokesman Perry Cooper said. "These were not people trying to do something with them, fortunately. But what it ends up doing is delaying the people behind them."
More than 800 firearms have been found by Transportation Security Administration workers nationwide, Dankers said. Last year, TSA workers at Sea-Tac found 21 weapons at security checkpoints.
"Responsible gun owners should know where their guns are at all times," Cooper said. "In this case, you should know how to pack them and the proper procedures to get through an airport. And there's no problem when you know how to do that."
Passengers are allowed to transport firearms on airplanes, but federal law requires they be unloaded, packed in checked baggage and declared to the airline. Realistic firearm replicas are also prohibited in carry-on baggage.
The TSA also encourages travelers wanting to transport firearms to check with their airline for possible additional firearm and ammunition policies. The man in the Saturday incident has not been charged.
"Hopefully," Cooper said, "when word gets out that will reduce the numbers we see."
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