SALT LAKE CITY — The Transportation Security Administration recovered eight guns at security checkpoints between two Utah airports since the beginning of January.
TSA discovered seven guns at the Salt Lake City International Airport and one at the St. George Municipal Airport. All but one of the firearms was loaded, according to a press release from TSA.
The first, a Taurus 38 Special, was recovered on Jan. 5 in St. George. The last gun, a .38 North American Arms Guardian, was recovered Feb. 5 in Salt Lake City. Both were loaded.
In each instance, a passenger arrived at the security checkpoint with a gun in their carryon bag, the release states.
“During the routine screening process, the TSA officer staffing the checkpoint X-ray machine detected the handgun on the screen as it passed along the conveyor belt,” the release states.
TSA notified airport police, which responded to the security checkpoint, and removed the passenger and firearm from the immediate area.
There was no impact to airport operations.
“Passengers are held responsible for the contents of their carryon bags,” Ron Malin, TSA federal security director for the state of Utah, stated in the release. “Please take a few minutes to ensure that the items you are bringing to the security checkpoint are allowed in the cabin of an aircraft.”
Additional firearms recovered were:
-On Jan. 8, a .25 caliber Beretta 21A Bobcat
-On Jan. 18, a 9mm Glock 19
-On Jan. 23, .38 caliber Glock 42
-On Jan. 26, a .25 caliber Beretta
-On Jan. 30, a .38 caliber Kel-Tec
The only gun not loaded was the firearm recovered on Jan. 8.
