Sharp rise seen in gun seizures at US airports

DALLAS — With air traffic nearing a five-month high, airport security is finding guns in passenger carry-on bags at three times the rate recorded before the pandemic.

And 80% of the guns are loaded.

The discoveries come as U.S. gun sales are surging, and analysts believe many of those purchases are by first-time buyers.

Officers found 15.3 guns for every million people screened in July, compared with 5.1 per million people in July of last year, the Transportation Security Administration said Monday.

There has been a significant increase in loaded guns at checkpoints, said TSA

Administrator David Pekoske. He said screeners are working in conditions of heightened risks and that “no one should be introducing new ones.”

“Even more concerning is that 80% of the firearms coming into the checkpoint are loaded, and it’s just an accident waiting to happen,” Pekoske said.

After an extended lull in activity, gun sales have begun to surge in recent months. FBI figures show there were over 3.6 million firearms background checks requested in July, up 79% from July 2019.

Background checks have been rising every month compared with a year earlier since April 2019, but they picked up this year, with checks topping 3 million in four of the last five months. Checks had not exceeded 3 million in one month since

December 2015.

Cowen analyst Cai von Rumohr, who tracks gun sales, said the increases are likely due to fear about COVID-19 lockdowns, civil unrest and former Vice President Joe Biden’s lead over President Donald Trump in polls ahead of the Nov. 3 election “given his more restrictive stance on gun control relative to President Trump.”

It is legal to transport guns in checked bags if they are unloaded and in a locked case. There are federal civil penalties for improperly placing a gun in a carry-on bag, and violators can lose the use of programs such as TSA PreCheck. Criminal charges are usually left to local authorities.

Last year, 4,432 guns were found in carry-on bags, or about 12.1 per day, and 87% were loaded.