Firearms found at TSA checkpoints at two Idaho airports
The Transportation Security Administration says that firearms were found at security checkpoints in Twin Falls and Boise Thursday morning.
The guns were found in the carry on bags of two different passengers, one at the Magic Valley Regional Airport and one at the Boise Airport.
TSA officers discovered the first firearm around 6 a.m. MDT at Magic Valley Regional Airport (TWF) in Twin Falls. A female passenger ticketed for travel to Salt Lake City International Airport had a .380 caliber Sig Sauer P238 pistol loaded with seven rounds of ammunition in her carry-on bag.
Four hours later, TSA officers at Boise Airport (BOI) found a .40 caliber Sig Sauer gun loaded with 10 rounds of ammunition in the carry-on bag of a male passenger ticketed for travel to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. It is not believed that the two incidents are related.
The female passenger in Twin Falls was not ticketed for the incident but the man in Boise was on the charge of a firearm at a checkpoint. Fines for bringing a firearm to a TSA checkpoint can be up to $7,500.
This is the first firearm TSA has discovered this year in carry-on luggage at TWF; it is the ninth firearm discovered at BOI. Nationwide in 2016, TSA has found more than 2,000 guns in carry-on bags at airport security checkpoints.