Gun seized at Pittsburgh airport for 5th time in 8 days

A gun was seized from a traveler at Pittsburgh International Airport on Friday night, the fifth weapon detected there in the past eight days.

Allegheny County Police reported that at 7:25 p.m., Transportation Security Administration officers observed a Sig Sauer 9mm handgun carefully concealed within a passenger’s duffel bag at the main security checkpoint. The officers alerted police that the firearm had been disassembled and separately wrapped inside various pieces of clothing within the duffel bag.

Police said they determined that Shane Woods, 20, of Lancaster, Calif., did not have a concealed firearm permit. The Federal Bureau of Investigation was notified and is involved in the investigation. Police have charged Mr. Woods with the violation of firearms not to be carried without a license. He was to be taken to jail.

The firearm and accompanying ammunition is in the possession of the Allegheny County Police.

In other recent cases, authorities said they determined that 35-yearold Paul O’Brien, of San Diego and Pittsburgh, did not possess a valid concealed carry permit for the loaded Smith & Wesson 9mm handgun they seized Tuesday. He was arrested by county police and charged with carrying a firearm without a licensein the 1 p.m. incident

On Monday, TSA officers observed a loaded Smith & Wesson 40-caliber handgun in a passenger’s backpack at the main security checkpoint. The 33-year-old male passenger from Canonsburg had a valid carry permit and was not charged.

Last Saturday, TSA officers found a loaded Glock 9mm handgun within a passenger’s carry-on bag at the alternate security checkpoint. The passenger, identified by county police as 40-year-old Jacob Huckabay, of Westcliffe, Calif., was arrested and charged.

On Oct. 14, officers observed a loaded Ruger .380 caliber handgun in a passenger’s carry-on bag. The passenger, Gordon Vietmeier, 54, of Pittsburgh, was arrested and charged with carrying a firearm without a license

Travelers are allowed to transport their firearms as checked baggage if they are properly packed and declared at their airline ticket counter to be transported in the belly of the plane with checked baggage. Checked firearms must be unloaded, packed in a hard-sided case, locked and packed separately from ammunition.

There have been 23 guns seized at the airport this year. Last year, 32 were seized.