(CNN) — The Transportation Security Administration began an investigation after officials said the gun may have been lost during a security inspection at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Government officials aware of the incident told CNN that passengers at Atlanta Airport may have boarded the plane on Tuesday with a bag with a gun.
Screening for carry-on baggage detected an item that could be a firearm on Tuesday, officials said on anonymous terms. The bag did not alert when it passed the screening device twice. Passengers were also able to leave the checkpoint with their bags.
The TSA does not clearly identify the item and does not know the identity of the passenger.
“This is one millionth,” officials said.
What happened at the airport
“There are unconfirmed reports of lost firearms at the South TSA Checkpoint at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport,” the TSA said in a statement.
“As a careful security measure, the TSA has scanned the terminal for passengers with carry-on baggage,” the statement said.
Officials said the TSA discovered the problem during a regular review of screening technique images.
“By the time they saw it, the passengers were probably on the plane,” officials said.
After triggering the alarm, the bag was set aside, but was not moved properly for more detailed hands-on screening. Officers finally passed it through the bag screening device again. It did not issue an alarm, which the authorities believe is a technical error, not a human one.
TSA spokesman Carter Langston told CNN that the case was under investigation.
Guns are being discovered “at amazing speed”
Officials said in a statement that the officer was finding the gun “at an amazing speed at the checkpoint.” Last year, a record was set at a checkpoint where firearms were captured, even though few people traveled for a pandemic.
In an interview at the time, TSA administrator David Pekosuke said, “In general, I think more people have weapons across the country, and everything that’s happening across the country is reflected in checkpoints. Has been done. ”
The maximum penalty for bringing a gun into the checkpoint range is approximately $ 13,000.
Image above: Travelers step into US Customs at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. (Camilo Freedman / SOAP Images / LightRocket / Getty Images)
Source: www.cnn.com
