JFK Airport TSA agents find gun in carry-on bag of Woodmere man, officials say
TSA officers at Kennedy Airport intercepted this handgun at a security checkpoint on Monday. Credit: TSA
A Woodmere man who had a handgun was arrested on a weapons charge after Transportation Security Administration officers stopped him while he tried to board a flight Monday at Kennedy Airport, officials said.
Citing policy, the TSA did not release the identity or age of the man, but said he was stopped at a checkpoint with 9-mm pistol, which was not loaded and was in a carry-on bag. The man was ticketed for a flight to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, though authorities did not release information about the airline on which he was booked.
TSA agents notified the Port Authority police, who made the arrest. Arraignment information was not available on Wednesday, but officials said the man also faced a federal civil penalty, which involves a maximum fine of $15,000 for carrying a weapon at the airport.
It was not clear if the handgun was licensed, though authorities said travelers could not carry weapons onto a flight — even if the weapon was legal and they had a permit to carry a concealed weapon.
"Bringing a gun to an airport security checkpoint is strictly prohibited," said John Essig, TSA federal security director at Kennedy, in a statement, adding: "It is no secret that guns cannot be carried onto an aircraft."
Between 2018 and Monday, the TSA said its officers intercepted 56 firearms at checkpoints at Kennedy — including 15 in 2023 and 10 last year.
This incident involved the third weapon confiscated this year at a TSA checkpoint at Kennedy.
The TSA provides details on how to travel with a legal firearm on its website.
Among the requirements are that the weapon must not be loaded; must be packed in a locked, hard-sided case; and be declared at the airline counter so it can be securely stored with checked baggage, authorities said.
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
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