This unloaded gun was found at Green Bay Austin Straubel International Airport Sept. 27, 2023. (Photo courtesy TSA)
ASHWAUBENON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — An unloaded gun was recently found at a security checkpoint at Green Bay Austin Straubel International Airport.
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration says the gun was found last Wednesday. The TSA alerted the Brown County Sheriff’s Office, which responded to the checkpoint.
This was the second gun found at the airport in 2023 after no guns were found in 2022. It was also one of 5,072 found at airport security checkpoints across the U.S. so far this year. The TSA says it is on pace to surpass last year’s record of 6,542 guns prevented from getting onto airplanes.
“Passengers may travel with a firearm, but it must be in their checked baggage,” TSA administrator David Pekoske said in a news release.
“Firearms are only permitted in checked baggage, unloaded in a locked hard-sided case and must be declared to the airline when checking the bag at the ticket counter. Firearms are prohibited at security checkpoints, in the secure area of an airport or in the passenger cabin of an aircraft even if a passenger has a concealed carry permit or is in a constitutional carry jurisdiction.”
Standard TSA procedure is to contact local law enforcement when a gun is found. Officers will then unload the gun and take possession of it. The passenger may also be arrested or cited.
The TSA may fine the passenger up to $15,000, and the passenger will lose TSA PreCheck eligibility for five years.
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