TSA stops two guns in two days at Orlando International Airport

For the second time in two weeks, TSA screeners at Orlando International Airport have spotted at least two loaded guns in carry-on luggage within 48 hours, records show.

On Monday morning, a .380-caliber pistol loaded with six cartridges and a second magazine with six more rounds were confiscated during an X-ray inspection of carry-on luggage, according to Orlando police.

Passenger Kevin Boland, 59, of Winter Springs “spontaneously stated that he checked the bag last night and didn’t realize the weapon was inside,” his arrest report stated.

On Sunday morning, 48-year-old Elsa Shope of Orlando said essentially the same thing when another Transportation Security Administration officer spotted a loaded .22-caliber revolver in her carry-on bag during a pre-boarding inspection, records show.

“She said she had a small handgun and that she thought she had left it at home,” the report said.

Over the weekendof Oct. 18-20, three guns were seized at OIA.

Shope and Boland were the 36th and 37th travelers charged this year with breaking state and federal laws prohibiting firearms and other weapons into pre-flight security checks.

Both were charged with carrying a firearm in a place prohibited by law, a misde- meanor reserved for defendants with valid carry concealed weapon permits, records show.

Anyone without a CCW permit caught with a firearm in the airport terminal faces a felony charge of carrying a concealed firearm.

In addition, Shope and Boland will face upto about $11,000 in federal fines.

Both Shope and Boland missed their flights after being booked into the Orange County Jail. They were later released on bail.

The most recent information released by TSA showed OIAranked second among Florida airports for confiscated firearms after Fort Lauderdale- Hollywood International Airport which had seized 38 guns.