Transportation Security Administration officers at Pittsburgh International Airport caught a traveler with a loaded handgun at a checkpoint Tuesday, Oct. 10, bringing the total number caught so far this year to a record-setting 36 guns.

The previous record of 35 guns caught in a year was set in 2019, according to a news release from the TSA. The discovery marked the sixth gun that was caught in the first 10 days of the month.

Officers stopped a Uniontown man, who had a 9 mm handgun loaded with five bullets in his carry-on bag. When TSA officers detected the weapon, they contacted the police, who confiscated the gun and arrested the traveler.

“It’s a constant battle to prevent travelers from bringing their guns to our checkpoints,” said Karen Keys-Turner, TSA’s federal security director for the airport. “Our officers are vigilant and focused on our mission. This proliferation of passengers toting their firearms with their carry-on items needs to stop.

“There’s no excuse for bringing a gun to our checkpoints because you certainly can’t carry it onto your flight.”

TSA officers also caught a Natrona man with a loaded gun at an airport security checkpoint on Saturday. The man was stopped with a .380 caliber handgun loaded with seven bullets including one in the chamber, according to the TSA.

Just two months earlier, the TSA confiscated a loaded 9 mm handgun and two loaded magazines from a Slippery Rock man at the airport. The Aug. 7 incident marked the 23rd firearm detected at a checkpoint in the Pittsburgh International Airport this year.

“Bring a gun to our checkpoint and you will face a stiff federal financial civil penalty that could cost you thousands of dollars,” Keys-Turner said. “Make no mistake, there is a high cost for gun owners who think that they can stroll through a checkpoint and onto a plane with a gun.”

The Slippery Rock man, whose name was not released, faces a federal civil penalty, which can run as high as $15,000, depending on the circumstances, the TSA said.

Last year, 26 firearms were detected at Pittsburgh airport checkpoints. The number caught in 2021 was 32.

Between 2017 and 2023, more than 200 firearms have been detected at the checkpoints. The highest number of catches in a year was 35 in 2019. The lowest was 21 in 2020.

Last year, 6,542 firearms were detected at 262 of 430 airport security checkpoints nationwide; 88% of them were loaded.

Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms only in checked baggage if they are unloaded and packed in a hard-sided locked case. Then, the locked case should be taken to the airline check-in counter to be declared. TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm posted on its website.

Firearms are not permitted through a security checkpoint because passengers should not have access to a firearm during a flight.

This even applies to travelers who have concealed carry permits or who are enrolled in the TSA PreCheck program. Those in the program will lose their TSA PreCheck privileges if they bring a gun to a checkpoint.

Butler County Sheriff Mike Slupe said people transporting weapons should properly declare them prior to their flights, and make sure they don’t have any guns in their luggage when they go through security.

“The proper way is to declare them in your luggage, get it inspected by the TSA, let them label it and put it on the plane for you,” Slupe said of transporting guns. “Double check, triple check your luggage, even if they are borrowed bags.”