St. Charles man charged for bringing gun into Chicago O'Hare Airport terminal
A St. Charles, Illinois man was facing misdemeanor weapons charges after after grabbing his gun from a security checkpoint at O'Hare International Airport and running into the terminal, making it onto his flight before he was arrested on Tuesday afternoon.
Chicago police said Besnik Ismajlaj, 53, was charged with a misdemeanor count of carrying a concealed firearm at the airport.
The Transportation Security Administration said officers detected an image of a firearm inside a bag going through Security Checkpoint 2 at Terminal 1 on Tuesday afternoon.
Before Chicago police could confiscate the gun, Ismajlaj reached inside the X-ray machine at the checkpoint, took the bag, and left for the gate, the TSA said.
Video showed airport employees making a path down the middle of Terminal 1 as officers ran through. They were searching for Ismajlaj as he was headed to his gate with a gun. He was able to make it onto a United Airlines flight before Chicago police and TSA officers tracked him down.
One social media user posted, "CPD just yanked a guy off my flight at O'Hare," and added, "Now they made us deplane and do a full security sweep of the plane."
It remained unclear on Wednesday why he was not held at the checkpoint until Chicago police arrived immediately after the gun was spotted in his bag, or how he was allowed to grab his backpack from the X-ray machine and make it all the way to his flight.
A police source told CBS News Chicago that Ismajlaj is a Firearm Owners Identification Card and concealed carry license holder.
"It's a federal offense to carry a loaded weapon, to carry any kind of a weapon, on a commercial aircraft," said Rob Mark, a pilot and aviation expert.
Signs at all U.S. airports warn travelers not to bring guns through TSA checkpoints.
"I've never heard of someone being stopped at a security checkpoint for a possible weapon and being able to just, you know, put their hand in and grab the bag and walk off," Mark said. "TSA blew this. I mean, I don't think there's any other way to say it. … I don't understand how that bag wasn't pulled."
A TSA spokesperson said the policy in these instances is to keep the bag with the firearm inside the X-ray tunnel and contact Chicago police. Before police could arrive to take the pistol, the passenger reached inside the X-ray machine, took the bag, left the checkpoint and went into the terminal. Screenings were suspended at Terminals 1 and 2 while officers searched for Ismajlaj.
CBS News Chicago went to Ismajlaj's home to ask him about the incident, but no one came to the door.
Police sources said officers were able to get a description of Ismajlaj at O'Hare and track him down to Gate E14, using airport cameras. That gate is the second-to-last gate in Terminal 1 at O'Hare.
The TSA joined in the effort to find him. When officers arrived at the gate, Ismajlaj had already boarded his full flight and was sitting in the second row. They removed him from the flight. When an officer asked him if he knew why police were on the scene, Ismajlaj told him, "yeah, it's in my bag."
An officer unzipped the backpack and found the loaded Glock 9mm semiautomatic pistol inside the front pocket and Ismajlaj was taken into custody.
The TSA has not clarified why no one pulled him aside until police arrived at the checkpoint after the gun was spotted on the X-ray machine at the checkpoint.
Ismajlaj is expected in court on June 9.
