Loaded gun detected at Rochester airport

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — An Allegany County man could face up to a $15,000 penalty after being found with a loaded gun at the Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport.

Security officers detected the handgun — a .45 caliber gun with four bullets — in the man’s carry-on bag at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security checkpoint on Tuesday. A security officer was operating the X-ray unit and detected what appeared to be a firearm, and a Monroe County sheriff’s deputy was notified. they opened the bag and found the gun, which was confiscated by the Sheriff’s Office.

The traveler, from Cuba, N.Y., had a valid New York State pistol permit, but guns are not permitted through the security checkpoint. Passengers are only permitted to travel with firearms if they are in checked baggage, unloaded then packed in a hard-sided locked case which must be declared at the airline check-in counter. Firearm possession laws vary by state and locality. TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm here.

The traveler faces a stiff financial civil penalty from TSA, as the penalty can stretch into thousands of dollars, to a maximum of $15,000.

According to the TSA, it’s the third firearm that the security team has intercepted at the checkpoint this year. Last year, there were four in all.