Three Virginia men have been caught with guns at Reagan National and Washington Dulles International airports over three days, bringing to 15 the number of firearms flagged by Transportation Security Administration officers at the two airports this year.
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Two of the men were cited Sunday by officers at a TSA security checkpoint at Dulles.
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TSA officials said a man from Great Falls was caught with an unloaded .32-caliber handgun in his carry-on bag. In a separate incident, a Leesburg man was cited after security officials found a 9mm handgun loaded with 15 bullets, TSA said. Both men told officials they forgot they were carrying the guns. That makes six guns recovered at the airport this year.
Both were cited on a weapons charge. Their identities were not immediately available.
Two days earlier, a Stafford man was caught at a security checkpoint at National Airport with a .40-caliber gun loaded with 10 bullets, including one in the chamber, officials said. The gun was confiscated and the man was cited on a weapons charge. It was the ninth gun detected by TSA officers at National this year.
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TSA officers detected nearly 6,000 guns last year at airports nationwide. The agency said about 86 percent were loaded. Of that total, 60 were detected at National and Dulles airports.
Those caught with guns or gun parts at airport checkpoints face civil fines and risk losing their PreCheck status. Passengers are permitted to travel with guns packed in a hard-side, locked case in their checked baggage. Ammunition must be packed separately. TSA also requires passengers to declare the guns at the airline ticket counter.
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Travelers with concealed gun carry permits must still place their firearms in checked baggage, the agency said.