Gun found in carry-on bag at C.R. airport

CEDAR RAPIDS - Security officials say they found a loaded firearm at The Eastern Iowa Airport on Friday morning.

The Transportation Security Administration officers found the firearm, loaded with five rounds, while X-ray screening a passenger's carry-on bag, according to a TSA news release.

Officials notified a public safety officer, who took possession of the weapon and cited the individual. The passenger was later allowed to continue on their flight, the release states.

'Last year, we found three firearms at Eastern Iowa (Airport) and already this year, we've found two,” TSA Federal Security Director John Bright said in the release. 'So this is a good opportunity to remind passengers that they cannot bring a firearm to a TSA security checkpoint.”

Travelers who bring a firearm to a security checkpoint can face a civil penalty up to $13,300 from the TSA and possible criminal charges.

Firearms can only be transported in checked bags, if the weapon is declared, properly packed, unloaded and in a locked, hard-sided case. Ammunition, firearm parts and replicas cannot be carried through a TSA security checkpoint.

People wishing to travel with a firearm in a checked bag are encouraged to contact their airline before traveling to check additional requirements.

TSA officers found a record 4,239 firearms - an average of almost 12 per day - at airport security checkpoints nationwide in 2018, a 7 percent increase over 2017.

l Comments: (319) 339-3175; mitchell.schmidt@thegazette.com