A 94-year-old Brooklyn man's .38-caliber loaded handgun was confiscated at New York's LaGuardia Airport on Wednesday as he was passing through passenger screening with the weapon strapped to his belt, security officials said.
The unidentified traveler, who was not arrested since he had a New York City permit for the concealed weapon, had clipped the firearm near the small of his back as he entered a body scanner, the Transportation Security Administration said.
As soon as he walked through security with the gun, which had six rounds in it, the metal detector set off, a Port Authority source told the New York Daily News, adding that the gun was then confiscated by police officers from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy International Airports.
Following the incident, the 94-year-old was allowed to rebook on a later flight to Palm Beach, Fla., a TSA official confirmed. However, the man will have to appear at a hearing when he returns.
In another instance, "a Queens, New York, man was arrested Wednesday at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport after TSA officers found a stash of weapons in two checked bags. The arsenal included two crossbows, three starter pistols, two BB guns, a stun gun, handcuffs and several arrows," CNN reported.
"TSA officers detected the weapons in the Queens man's luggage as it was passing through the checked-baggage screening equipment. It was opened after the equipment alerted TSA officers of suspicious items inside the bags. Port Authority police arrested the traveler, who was on his way to Dubai, in the terminal on local weapons charges."
In October, dozens of loaded firearms, inert military grenades, a mobile phone disguised as a stun gun, a tiny lipstick knife and a total of 181 guns were confiscated from carry-on bags of pistol-packing passengers travelling at major U.S. airports, according to the Transportation and Security Administration.
Among the prohibited firearms seized between Oct. 3 and Oct. 30, a total of 157 guns were reportedly loaded, nearly a third with rounds chambered, according to the TSA Blog's latest round-up.
"Unfortunately these sorts of occurrences are all too frequent which is why we talk about these finds," the TSA, who tallies the number of confiscated firearms each week, wrote on its official blog.
Meanwhile, the TSA confiscated more than 1,800 firearms from carry-on bags in 2013, reported Fox News.
