TSA stopped 100 guns at Detroit Metro Airport in 2022, up 6 from previous year

TSA stops 100 guns at Detroit Metro Airport checkpoints last year

The number of guns caught at the airport has continued to rise in recent years, according to data from TSA. In 2021, there were 94 guns stopped. That number was more than double the 44 found in 2020.

ROMULUS, Mich. (FOX 2) - Transportation Security Administration officers stopped 100 handguns at security checkpoints at Detroit Metro Airport in 2022.

The number of guns caught at the airport has continued to rise in recent years, according to data from TSA. In 2021, there were 94 guns stopped. That number was more than double the 44 found in 2020.

The airport did not make it onto the top 10 list of most guns found, and TSA said the number of guns found at Detroit Metro was close to the national average. TSA screened nearly 11.3 million departing passengers and crew in 2022. TSA officers at DTW discovered firearms in carry-on luggage at a rate of 8.9 firearms per million passengers screened.

This calculates to a rate of one firearm discovery for every 112,877 travelers screened, TSA said. The national average was one firearm for every 116,394 travelers screened.

"Bringing a firearm to the checkpoint is an expensive, dangerous mistake that far too many people are making," Michigan TSA Federal Security Director Steve Lorincz said. "Our TSA officers are doing a fantastic job preventing weapons from making their way onboard aircraft, but the responsibility falls to passengers to pack smart and keep prohibited items out of their baggage."

Passengers can only travel with firearms in checked baggage. The guns must be unloaded, packed separately from ammunition in a locked hardback case, and declared at the airline check-in counter.

TSA may impose civil penalties of up to $14,950 per violation per person. If a traveler with a gun is a member of TSA PreCheck, they will lose their TSA PreCheck privileges for at least five years.