Transportation Security Administration officers found the highest number of guns at airport checkpoints ever recorded in a one-week period earlier this month, the agency announced Tuesday.
A total of 104 firearms were uncovered in air travel passengers’ carry-on bags Feb. 5-11, according to a press release. The new record is nearly a 10 percent hike from the previous record of 96 guns set in July 2017.
TSA said 87 of those guns were loaded and 38 of those had a round chambered, or were fully loaded.
Last year, the Department of Homeland Security entity found a record high 3,957 guns in passenger carry-on bags, nearly five times the number seized a decade ago. An average of 10.8 guns were found each day, or 75 per week, in 2017.
TSA has attributed the spike to an overall increase in air travel passengers, not necessarily an underlying terror threat.
However, the dramatic uptick took place just days before a mass shooting in Parkland, Fla., in which 17 people were killed and 14 others injured. The incident has prompted students and gun control-aligned groups to call for tighter background check protocols.
Firearm possession laws vary with state and local laws, but in states where they are allowed, firearms must be unloaded and locked in a hard-sided container and transported as checked baggage.
All parts, including ammunition, must be declared at the airline ticket counter during the check-in process. Those who do not follow the law can be arrested and fined up to $13,066.
