BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A man was stopped by TSA at the Buffalo-Niagara International Airport on Monday after he was found to be carrying a loaded gun in his front pants pocket, TSA officials announced.
Officials said the man, a Buffalo resident, began the TSA screening process when he realized he had the gun on his person. The .380 caliber weapon was loaded with eight bullets and had one in the chamber.
TSA officers halted the screening process and contacted NFTA police, who responded and confiscated the gun, officials said.
The man now faces a maximum penalty of a $15,000 fine.
“I would like to acknowledge my appreciation to the TSA officers who acted quickly and to the NFTA police officers who quickly responded to the checkpoint and ensured that the man did not retain control of his loaded gun,” said Bart R. Johnson, TSA’s Federal Security Director for Upstate New York in a release. “I would also like to express my disappointment in a licensed and trained New York State pistol permit holder who did not have enough self-awareness to remember that he was coming to the airport and that he shouldn’t be carrying his gun on him. Instead, he entered an active security checkpoint with a loaded handgun at his fingertips and created a potentially dangerous situation.”