Man With 16 Guns Arrested At LAX

A motorist with 16 guns and at least 700 rounds of ammunition in his pickup truck was arrested Friday at a vehicle checkpoint as he entered Los Angeles International Airport, authorities said.

The weapons and ammunition were in a container in the back of the man's truck, which was stopped by airport police officers at a major entrance to the passenger terminals area, said airport spokeswoman Nancy Castles.

The 47-year-old man's identity was not immediately released.

The man was stopped randomly at the checkpoint, reports CBS Radio reporter Claudia Pesciutta.

The weapons included 10 handguns, five rifles and one musket, airport police Sgt. Jim Holcomb told Pesciutta. Only one of the weapons, a revolver, was loaded, Holcomb said.

The man was arrested for investigation of felony transportation of an assault rifle, he said.

Police initially reported that 37 weapons were found in the truck. Castles said that count was an estimate based on the number of containers in the truck, which did not all contain weapons.

Holcomb said there was no indication the man was out to do any harm at the airport and was apparently there to pick up someone.

"He just made a very bad decision and should not have been carrying those weapons," Holcomb said.

He added that the arrest had no effect on airport operations because the man was caught before even reaching the terminals.

Airport police routinely set up vehicle checkpoints at roads leading into the airport's central ring roads, but Castles said it is rare to find so many weapons at once.

The FBI, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Los Angeles Police Department are investigating whether the weapons were properly registered.