Guns Found At Connecticut Airport Checkpoints Spiked In 2021

Brookfield CT

20 January, 2022

11:00 AM

Description

CONNECTICUT — Nearly 6,000 firearms were found in carry-on luggage at U.S. airport checkpoints in 2021, according to new information released by the Transportation Security Administration. Of those guns, nine were seized at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. Nationwide, 5,972 guns were intercepted at 268 airports last year, according to TSA data. That's a 36 percent increase over 2019, when travel volume was similar to 2021, and a staggering 45 percent increase over 2020. Among the firearms confiscated by officials, 86 percent were loaded, CBS News reported. "That presents a significant health, safety and security concern for us," TSA Administrator David Pekoske told CBS News. Bradley International's nine firearm detections ranked 105th out of 268 airports nationwide that had firearm detections. Just one gun was seized at Bradley in 2020, down from seven in 2019. Burlington International and T.F. Green Airport were the only two New England airports that saw declines from 2019 detections. The 9mm was the most popular caliber detected at New England airports. In 2021, the TSA screened approximately 585 million passengers and crew at airports across the country. That figure represents an 81 percent increase over the approximately 324 million screened in 2020. This means a firearm was detected for every 97,999 passengers screened. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta was at the top of this year's list with 507 guns detected, up from 323 in 2019. These airports had the highest numbers of guns found in 2021: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport: 507 gunsDallas/Fort Worth International Airport: 317 gunsHouston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport: 245 gunsPhoenix Sky Harbor International Airport: 196 gunsNashville International Airport: 163 gunsDenver International Airport: 141 gunsFort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport: 128 gunsOrlando International Airport: 124 gunsLouis Armstrong New Orleans International: 119 gunsSalt Lake City International Airport: 115 gunsPekoske told CBS News he's worried about the alarming record. "What's causing it? I don't know exactly, but generally, I think our weapons carriage detections reflect just more people carrying weapons in the country," he told CBS News.