TSA: Man, 94, Caught With Gun At LaGuardia Checkpoint
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Transportation Security Administration officers confiscated a gun Wednesday from a 94-year-old man set to board a plane at LaGuardia Airport.
The Brooklyn man had a .38-caliber handgun snapped to a belt at the small of his back as he entered a security checkpoint at the airport sometime Thursday, the TSA said in a news release.
TSA officers spotted the gun, which was loaded with six rounds, as the man entered the body scanner, the release said.
The officers contacted Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police, who came to the checkpoint and took the gun away, the TSA said. The release did not say the man was arrested.
The TSA said there was no impact on operations at the airports, which were particularly busy Wednesday with holiday travelers and due to the nor'easter that clobbered the area.
The TSA emphasized in the release that firearms, firearms parts and other ammunition are not permitted past airport checkpoints, and those who try to get bring them in can be slapped with criminal charges and civil penalties of up to $11,000.
Last year, TSA officers caught 1,813 guns at checkpoints, and this year already, nearly 2,000 have been caught.
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