Thanks to the vigilance of TSA officers, a male passenger was prevented from bringing a firearm onto a plane at T.F. Green Airport (PVD) on April 20.
This incident marks the first firearm detection of the year at a PVD security checkpoint. The TSA officers discovered the firearm and six magazines in the man’s carry-on bag on Thursday afternoon. Rhode Island Airport Police (RIAP) found a 9mm firearm cleverly concealed in the underlining compartment of the bag, along with a total of 72 rounds.
When questioned by RIAP, the passenger claimed the gun wasn’t his and that the bag belonged to his friend. RIAP took possession of the firearm and arrested the 32-year-old Alabama resident on state charges.
In 2023, TSA officers detected 15 firearms at New England security checkpoints. TSA reserves the right to issue a civil penalty to travelers with guns and gun parts at a checkpoint, and the first offense of carrying a loaded weapon into a checkpoint typically incurs a $3,000 fine.
Passengers may travel with firearms in their checked baggage if they are unloaded, packed separately from ammunition in a locked hardback case, and declared at the airline check-in counter. TSA has details on how to travel with a firearm on its website correctly.