By Associated Press - Thursday, August 14, 2014

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Transportation Security Administration said Thursday it’s confiscated more guns at Charlotte Douglas International Airport checkpoints this year than in all of 2013.

The Charlotte Observer reports (https://bit.ly/1pbrWyb) that Kevin Frederick, federal security director for the TSA at Charlotte Douglas, said 28 guns have been seized at the airport this year, compared to 27 in all of 2013.

Officials said a loaded .38-caliber and a loaded 9 mm handgun were discovered in carry-on baggage last week, and two more guns were discovered on Wednesday.

Frederick said it’s hard to believe that 13 years after the terrorist attacks on the U.S., his agency is still finding a lot of prohibited items.

“There didn’t seem to be malicious intent,” he said. In one case this year at Charlotte Douglas, a man was found with a pistol in his bag. It turned out that he had bought the bag at a yard sale and never realized a handgun belonging to the former owner was stored in a pocket.

That’s not considered an excuse, said Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Lt. David Moorefield, who oversees airport police.

“We will hold everybody accountable for the contents of their bag,” said Moorefield. “Please, just double, triple-check your bag.”

TSA displayed a table of confiscated items at a news conference, including a rubber mallet, a claw hammer, ice picks and a titanium golf driver.

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