Chesapeake man caught with loaded 9mm handgun at Norfolk International Airport

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A Chesapeake man was caught with a loaded 9mm handgun at Norfolk International Airport on September 28.

This is the second gun caught at the airport in three days.

According to TSA officers at ORF, the 9mm handgun loaded with eight bullets, including one in the chamber, was detected at one of the airport security checkpoints on Tuesday.

The Norfolk Airport Authority Police were alerted who confiscated the weapon. The man faces possible criminal prosecution, as well as a stiff federal financial civil penalty.

Officials say that penalties can stretch into thousands of dollars, depending on mitigating circumstances.

Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms in checked baggage if they are properly packaged and declared at their airline ticket counter to be transported in the belly of the plane. Guns are not permitted to be carried onto planes.

Checked firearms must be unloaded, packed in a hard-sided case, locked, and packed separately from ammunition. TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm and ammunition posted on its website.

So far this year, TSA officials have caught 17 weapons at ORF. That is more than the total for 2017, 2019 and 2020. Officials say about 83% of weapons confiscated in 2020 were loaded.