Gun Discharged at Atlanta Airport TSA Security Checkpoint
Nov 20, 2021, 8:30 pm
#1
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Gun Discharged at Atlanta Airport TSA Security Checkpoint
Police ID passenger being sought after discharging gun at airport
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A gun was discharged at the airport around 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the security screening area. And it sent social media into a frenzy as visitors posted videos to Twitter of chaos unraveling.
The Transportation Security Administration said in a statement that after an X-ray detected a prohibited item, a TSA officer began searching a bag and advised the passenger not to touch it. The passenger lunged into the bag and grabbed a firearm, “at which point it discharged,” according to TSA. “The passenger then fled the area, running out of the airport exit,” the statement indicated.
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Officials said in another statement around 3:30 p.m. that the airport had resumed normal operations. Meanwhile, Twitter users were reporting that the airport was still in a state of confusion, some noting long lines and missed flights.
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A gun was discharged at the airport around 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the security screening area. And it sent social media into a frenzy as visitors posted videos to Twitter of chaos unraveling.
The Transportation Security Administration said in a statement that after an X-ray detected a prohibited item, a TSA officer began searching a bag and advised the passenger not to touch it. The passenger lunged into the bag and grabbed a firearm, “at which point it discharged,” according to TSA. “The passenger then fled the area, running out of the airport exit,” the statement indicated.
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Officials said in another statement around 3:30 p.m. that the airport had resumed normal operations. Meanwhile, Twitter users were reporting that the airport was still in a state of confusion, some noting long lines and missed flights.
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Nov 21, 2021, 1:56 pm
#2
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I hope the TSO who was at x-ray starts looking for a new job, because it's more than likely that person is going to get fired.
If the TSA is generous, they might not contest that persons application for unemployment but getting fired from Federal Government, especially for this reason looks really bad on your resume..
At the minimum, this person is the one who messed up. Completely avoidable.
If the TSA is generous, they might not contest that persons application for unemployment but getting fired from Federal Government, especially for this reason looks really bad on your resume..
At the minimum, this person is the one who messed up. Completely avoidable.
Nov 21, 2021, 4:30 pm
#3
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I hope the TSO who was at x-ray starts looking for a new job, because it's more than likely that person is going to get fired.
If the TSA is generous, they might not contest that persons application for unemployment but getting fired from Federal Government, especially for this reason looks really bad on your resume..
At the minimum, this person is the one who messed up. Completely avoidable.
If the TSA is generous, they might not contest that persons application for unemployment but getting fired from Federal Government, especially for this reason looks really bad on your resume..
At the minimum, this person is the one who messed up. Completely avoidable.
Nov 21, 2021, 6:42 pm
#4
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I love to jump on TSA and individual TSOs who screw up as much as the next guy, but I didn't immediately assume that the TSO involved had screwed up. They found the gun, that's a rare enough thing as it is; without seeing the exact play of events on video, I'm not going to assume a huge screw up on the part of the TSO.
I won't go into too much detail on how these machines work and what procedures are to be followed, but it's obvious to me that at least the x-ray operator didn't do their job as trained to do when "they found a gun". Large liquids and other weird stuff are considered "bag checks", finding a firearm in a bag at the passenger screening area, isn't a "bag check".
The video won't show anything, just showing the x-ray operator paying attention to the screen, and then talking with another person to confirm what bag to pick etc...
Nov 25, 2021, 8:40 pm
#5
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I hope the TSO who was at x-ray starts looking for a new job, because it's more than likely that person is going to get fired.
If the TSA is generous, they might not contest that persons application for unemployment but getting fired from Federal Government, especially for this reason looks really bad on your resume..
At the minimum, this person is the one who messed up. Completely avoidable.
If the TSA is generous, they might not contest that persons application for unemployment but getting fired from Federal Government, especially for this reason looks really bad on your resume..
At the minimum, this person is the one who messed up. Completely avoidable.
Nov 26, 2021, 5:46 pm
#6
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I love to jump on TSA and individual TSOs who screw up as much as the next guy, but I didn't immediately assume that the TSO involved had screwed up. They found the gun, that's a rare enough thing as it is; without seeing the exact play of events on video, I'm not going to assume a huge screw up on the part of the TSO.
Nov 26, 2021, 6:08 pm
#7
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I think the operating procedure is the xray operator calls a LEO if there is a gun seen on the screen. It stays in the tunnel till a leo arrives and they take over. Apparently, the operator didn't think it was a weapon but that alone is bad as they jump out. I say it is the x-ray operator that is in trouble.
Nov 27, 2021, 8:50 am
#8
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From what I read of the news reports the TSO did not correctly follow procedure - he opened the bag with the suspected firearm while the passenger was in reach of the bag. The pax then reached into the opened bag to grab the gun and run off with it (understandable, as he was a convicted felon in possession of a firearm). While removing the gun out of the bag it fired and then he did, indeed, run off with it - and dumped it in a trash receptacle. The airport cops simply reviewed security camera footage to identify where the gun was dumped to recover it.I suspect when all is said and done the pax will spend much more time in prison than the last time.....and the TSO will undergo refresher training after being commended for discovering and preventing yet another firearm from being taken aboard an aircraft.
Nov 27, 2021, 9:02 am
#9
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I think the operating procedure is the xray operator calls a LEO if there is a gun seen on the screen. It stays in the tunnel till a leo arrives and they take over. Apparently, the operator didn't think it was a weapon but that alone is bad as they jump out. I say it is the x-ray operator that is in trouble.
Nov 29, 2021, 1:43 pm
#10
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Perhaps I'm missing something. The TSA X-ray operator only flags a suspicious bag for inspection and a different screener conducts the actual inspection.
Appears the X-ray operator properly identified an anomaly that required further investigation. The screener conducting the inspection used facilities as TSA provided but poorly designed to limit passenger contact with a suspicious item. If fault is going to be assigned shouldn't that fault be laid at the feet of management that both designed and approved checkpoint layouts?
Appears the X-ray operator properly identified an anomaly that required further investigation. The screener conducting the inspection used facilities as TSA provided but poorly designed to limit passenger contact with a suspicious item. If fault is going to be assigned shouldn't that fault be laid at the feet of management that both designed and approved checkpoint layouts?
Last edited by Boggie Dog; Nov 29, 2021 at 1:54 pm
Dec 1, 2021, 3:17 pm
#11
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Perhaps I'm missing something. The TSA X-ray operator only flags a suspicious bag for inspection and a different screener conducts the actual inspection.
Appears the X-ray operator properly identified an anomaly that required further investigation. The screener conducting the inspection used facilities as TSA provided but poorly designed to limit passenger contact with a suspicious item. If fault is going to be assigned shouldn't that fault be laid at the feet of management that both designed and approved checkpoint layouts?
Appears the X-ray operator properly identified an anomaly that required further investigation. The screener conducting the inspection used facilities as TSA provided but poorly designed to limit passenger contact with a suspicious item. If fault is going to be assigned shouldn't that fault be laid at the feet of management that both designed and approved checkpoint layouts?
Dec 4, 2021, 6:32 pm
#12
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Man carried loaded handgun on American Airlines flight from Barbados to Miami, officials say
At least this time, the gun did not discharge and the terminal did not have to be evacuated.
An 83-year-old passenger boarded an American Airlines flight in Barbados last month with a loaded Ruger revolver in his pants pocket, then flew to Miami, authorities said.
The breach at Barbados’ Grantley Adams International Airport raised questions about the level of security in the Caribbean nation... An international team from the Transportation Security Administration will travel to work with local officials on improvements, the agency said.
After passenger Cameron Hinds, from the island’s capital city of Bridgetown, landed at Miami International Airport, he sent his briefcase through a security screening ahead of his connecting flight to Orlando, authorities said. A TSA X-ray operator discovered the .32-caliber weapon, loaded with five rounds, in the black case. Hinds was arrested by Miami-Dade Police and charged with carrying a concealed weapon.
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Hinds told police that afterhe went through customs, he remembered the gun in his pocket and then put it in his carry-on before reaching the TSA checkpoint.
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The breach at Barbados’ Grantley Adams International Airport raised questions about the level of security in the Caribbean nation... An international team from the Transportation Security Administration will travel to work with local officials on improvements, the agency said.
After passenger Cameron Hinds, from the island’s capital city of Bridgetown, landed at Miami International Airport, he sent his briefcase through a security screening ahead of his connecting flight to Orlando, authorities said. A TSA X-ray operator discovered the .32-caliber weapon, loaded with five rounds, in the black case. Hinds was arrested by Miami-Dade Police and charged with carrying a concealed weapon.
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Hinds told police that afterhe went through customs, he remembered the gun in his pocket and then put it in his carry-on before reaching the TSA checkpoint.
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Dec 6, 2021, 8:25 am
#13
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Man carried loaded handgun on American Airlines flight from Barbados to Miami, officials sayAt least this time, the gun did not discharge and the terminal did not have to be evacuated.
in that same linked story was a link to another story with this "unfortunately' labeled link: TSA screened most passengers since pandemic began
- but, on the other hand, many here would say it is an accurate title.....