SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - Transportation Security Administration officials say that during the first five weeks of 2012, officers have detected four firearms during routine carry-on baggage screening at security checkpoints at Salt Lake City International Airport.
TSA officials say the most recent firearm discovery came Friday evening, February 3, when a female passenger traveling to Denver had a loaded Ruger Lightweight Compact Pistol (LCP) with six rounds of ammunition and one additional magazine containing six rounds of ammunition in her carry-on.
Salt Lake City Airport Police arrested her on a state charge of Possession of a Dangerous Firearm, according to the TSA.
Since the first of the year, TSA officials say four other fire arms were detected at SLC International Airport, Including:
January 1: A male passenger headed to Los Angeles International Airport brought a loaded Ruger LCP to the checkpoint loaded with six rounds of ammunition and a magazine loaded with six additional rounds of ammunition. He was arrested on a local charge of Possession of a Deadly Weapon in a Secure Area.
January 18: A male passenger ticketed for travel to Las Vegas had a Smith & Wesson Bodyguard .380 caliber semiautomatic pistol in his carry-on bag loaded with four rounds of ammunition. He also was carrying two magazines loaded with six rounds of ammunition each in his bag. The Salt Lake City Airport Police arrested him on a state charge of Carrying a Concealed Weapon in a Secure Area.
January 23: A male passenger also traveling to Las Vegas had a Kel-Tec .380 caliber weapon loaded with six rounds of ammunition. He was arrested on a state charge of Possession of a Dangerous Weapon in an Airport Secure Area.
According to the TSA, officers found more than 1,300 firearms in carry-on bags during 2011.
At SLC security checkpoints, TSA officials say 34 guns were detected by officers in 2011.
TSA officials say firearms, ammunition, firearm parts and realistic replicas of firearms are always prohibited in carry-on baggage, but that passengers can avoid problems at most airports by transporting weapons in the checked baggage.
The TSA also noted that firearms in checked baggage must be unloaded and stored in a locked, hard-sided container.
The TSA urged passengers to contact their airline for specific firearm and ammunition policies and to check local laws related to the carrying and transport of firearms.
----Information from: TSA.
