Airport gun discoveries rising in Tennessee
New data from the Transportation Security Administration shows an increase in firearms found in Tennessee airports in 2018 over 2017, with a big increase in Memphis and the majority of guns being found in Nashville.
Two Tennessee airports saw increases in the number of firearms found in carry-on and checked bags, with Knoxville’s McGhee Tyson Airport moving from 13 firearms found in 2017 to 16 firearms in 2018 and Memphis International Airport jumping up 80 percent from 26 to 47.
TSA: MORE TRAVELERS, MORE GUNS
TSA regional spokesperson Mark Howell said the increase in gun discoveries is likely due to a pretty simple formula.
“There’s really no big science to it,” he said. “Part of the overall increase could be attributed to a simple formula. More people are traveling; we’re screening more people year over year, and you have more people purchasing guns. More guns plus more travelers is going to equal more guns at airports.”
Nashville International Airport accounted for more than half of the 162 firearms found across the state’s five biggest airports in 2018 and saw about 16 million passengers compared to about 3 million at Memphis International, around 2 million at Knoxville’s McGhee Tyson, half a million in Chattanooga and about 400,000 at the Tri-Cities Airport.
Four guns were found at Tri-Cities airport in Blountville last year, down from six, and nine were found in Chattanooga, down from 14. TSA agents also found three smoke grenades in a checked bag at Nashville’s airport on Nov. 19.
NASHVILLE 10TH HIGHEST IN NATION ON GUN FINDS
Agents found 86 firearms at Nashville International Airport, which placed the airport at 10th highest in the country, and 80 of them were loaded when discovered.
Four of the other top-10 airports were in Texas, and another two were in Florida. Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina, which is a frequent hub for flights in the Southeast and sees about 44 million passengers annually, saw 76 firearms discovered last year, up nine from 2017.
Howell said the concentration of gun discoveries in states like Texas and Florida, as well as across the South, likely had to do with local laws regarding firearm carrying practices.