PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Forgetful passengers with guns in their carry-on bags tried to get through security a couple of times a month last year at Oregon airports.
Thirty times, security agents found guns - 21 times at Portland International Airport and three each at the airports in Eugene, Medford and Redmond.
Usually, the passengers simply forgot the weapons were in their bags, said officials of the Transportation Security Administration.
Nevertheless, said agency spokesman Nico Melendez, “there’s no excuse to forget a gun is in your bag.”
The Oregonian said statistics on the weapons are compiled from agency blogs and posted on the Medill National Security Zone at https://nationalsecurityzone.org/site .
Most often, the weapons found in Oregon were compact: 38-caliber pistols and 9 mm handguns.
But, the Oregonian reported (https://bit.ly/1iULphO), some were more powerful. On Nov. 29 at Portland, agents found a loaded .357 Magnum, a revolver that fires bullets at a high velocity and is powerful enough to bring down a deer.
In 17 cases at the Portland airport, the guns were loaded.
The cases usually end with a citation by Port of Portland police and the confiscation of the firearm. The port police forward citations to the U.S. Attorney and Multnomah County prosecutors.
The TSA also can hit passengers with civil penalties of up to $11,000, said Melendez.
A confiscated gun is either destroyed or, if legally possessed, returned to the passenger later, said Port of Portland spokesman Steve Johnson.
Usually, the weapons could have been legally transported in checked baggage, unloaded and packed in a locked case.
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Information from: The Oregonian, https://www.oregonlive.com
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