Souderton Man Cited After Bringing Handgun to Philadelphia International Airport

Keith Heffintrayer | North Penn Now•

This gun was caught by TSA officers at a Philadelphia International Airport checkpoint on Oct. 28.

For the second time this month, an area resident has been cited after bringing a firearm to Philadelphia International Airport.

According to a release from the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA), an unnamed Souderton man was caught with a .38 caliber handgun in his carry-on bag on Saturday. Officials said as the man entered a security checkpoint, the x-ray unit alerted them to the weapon, which was subsequently confiscated.

"There is no excuse for bringing a gun to our checkpoints,” said Gerardo Spero, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport. "The only way to fly with your firearm is to ensure it is unloaded, packed in a hard-sided locked case, and taken to the airline check-in counter and declared. The airline will make sure it is transported in the belly of the aircraft so that nobody has access to it during a flight.”

A Philadelphia man was also cited for the second time on Saturday, after he attempted to bring a 9mm handgun through security on Saturday at the airport.

"The fact that this is the second gun-related offense by one of the two individuals who was caught on Saturday is absolutely unacceptable,” Spero said. "Getting caught one time is one thing, but not learning a lesson from that experience is just unforgivable."

Both men will face local criminal citations, as well as federal financial civil penalties upwards of $15,000, officials said.

Since 2017, 229 firearms have been caught by the TSA at the Philadelphia International Airport, including 40 so far in 2023, according to the TSA. That includes a Hatfield man, who was cited after attempting to bring a loaded .45 caliber handgun through security on Oct. 11.

"It is disappointing to continue to see the frequency in which travelers are bringing their guns to our checkpoints,” Spero said. "The guns caught this past weekend brings our annual total to 40 guns and we still have two full months to go in the calendar year.”