Watch CBS News

Another Gun Found In Carry-On Luggage At Midway

CHICAGO (CBS) -- For the eighth time this year, security agents at Midway Airport discovered a firearm in a passenger's carry-on baggage.

Transportation Security Administration screeners found a loaded loaded 9mm Smith & Wesson firearm Thursday in the luggage of a 43 year-old male passenger flying from Chicago to McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas.

"When discovered, TSA immediately notified local law enforcement who responded to the checkpoint and arrested the passenger on a local charge," the TSA said in a news release.

Further information on the charges was not immediately available. Typically, violators are charged with attempting to carry a concealed firearm in an airport, a misdemeanor.

Individuals who bring firearms to security checkpoints are referred to law enforcement and are subject to criminal penalties, the TSA says.

TSA also imposes civil penalties ranging from $1,500 up to $7,000 for a single violation of a firearm brought to a security checkpoint.

TSA discovered more than 1,800 firearms at checkpoints across the nation in 2013 and more than 2,200 firearms in 2014.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.