Texas No. 1 for firearm seizures at airports





Databases: National airport firearm seizures | Texas airport firearm seizures



PHOTO: A traveler walks to security at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport on Jan. 16, 2009, in Charlotte, North Carolina. A quarter of firearms seized at airports in the United States during the last two years occurred at Texas airports, more than any other state, according to data provided by the Transportation Security Administration. However, Texas was not the home of the airport with the most seizures of any U.S. airport. Click through to see which airports seized the most guns.PHOTO: A traveler walks to security at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport on Jan. 16, 2009, in Charlotte, North Carolina. less A quarter of firearms seized at airports in the United States during the last two years occurred at Texas airports, more than any other state, according to data provided by the Transportation Security ... more Image 1 of / 38 Caption Close Texas No. 1 for firearm seizures at airports 1 / 38 Back to Gallery

SAN ANTONIO — A quarter of firearms seized at airports in the United States during the last two years occurred at Texas airports, more than any other state, according to data provided by the Transportation Security Administration.

Out of the 3,369 firearms seized by the TSA in 2012 and 2013 at U.S. airports, 842 were in the Lone Star State.

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport had the most gun seizures in Texas, with 176 during the last two years. By comparison, San Antonio International Airport saw 59 seizures during that time, which is the 14th most of any airport in the country.

Browse through firearm seizures at the 19 airports in Texas in our database here, or see the airports with the most seizures in the country in this database.

Two of the top three airports in the country for gun seizures are in Texas (Dallas and Houston) and six of the top 15 are located in the Lone Star State, according to the data.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport had 207 firearms seized during 2012-2013, the most of any U.S. airport.

The most firearm seizures in Texas airports during the last two years are: Dallas/Fort Worth International, 176; George Bush International Airport-Houston, 120; Dallas Love Field, 74; William P. Hobby-Houston, 65; San Antonio International Airport, 59; Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, 56.

On average, five guns were seized per day at airports across the country. One in three had a bullet in the chamber and 84 percent of the firearms were loaded, according to National Security Journalism Initiative. Gun seizures at U.S. airports increased by 20 percent from 2012 to 2013, the data shows.

TSA screens approximately 1.8 million passengers and their luggage every day, said Carrie Harmon, a regional public affairs officer for the agency. Firearms are prohibited in carry-on bags, but can be transported in checked bags if they are unloaded, properly packed and declared to the airline.

When a firearm is intercepted at a TSA checkpoint, the agency alerts law enforcement, which takes possession of the weapon, interviews the passenger, and determines any criminal charges. However, TSA can impose a civil penalty with fines ranging from $250 to $11,000 per incident.

Sixteen firearms have been intercepted in San Antonio by the TSA in 2014, she said.

As of 2012, Texas had issued 519,000 concealed handgun permits, the fourth-most in the country. Ahead of Texas are states including: Florida, 887,000; Pennsylvania, 786,000; Georgia, 600,000; according tot the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

kparker@express-news.net

Twitter: @KoltenParker