4 guns found at Salt Lake City International Airport (KSLC) in just 1 week

It’s been a wild week at security checkpoints at Salt Lake City International Airport — with officers finding four guns, an artillery shell and a set of Samurai swords in carry-on luggage.  

 "We’re on a roll," said Lorie Dankers, spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration.

Guns were found three days in a row — on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday — and also on Jan. 9 last week. All the guns were loaded, and Dankers said all the passengers with those guns were arrested by police on state charges.

Last year, 20 guns were found at the airport all year — so it has found a fifth of that total in just the first 16 days of 2013.

Additionally this week, TSA found a 105 mm artillery shell casing with the primer intact, and a set of Samurai swords. Dankers said the owner of the swords was allowed to put them into checked baggage.

Firearms, ammunition, firearm parts and realistic replicas are always banned in carry-on luggage. However, they may be transported in checked baggage if the traveler declares them to the airline during the check-in process. Firearms must be unloaded and stored in a locked, hard-sided container.

Dankers said the TSA reminds passengers to be aware of the contents of their carry-on luggage before coming to security checkpoints. Lists of banned items are available online at TSA.gov, and through the "myTSA" mobile app.

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