The federal agency tasked with screening passengers before they get on planes says officers this year have stopped a record number of guns brought by passengers attempting to go through airport security checkpoints.
The Transportation Security Administration said in a news release Friday that officers have stopped 6,301 firearms so far this year, and the agency is anticipating that number will rise to 6,600 by the end of the year. That’s nearly a 10% increase over last year, which was already a record, the agency said. Nearly 90% of the weapons caught so far were loaded, the agency said. The agency considers a weapon to be loaded if the passenger has access to both the gun and the ammunition.
