A Richmond woman was halted at the Transportation and Security Administration checkpoint at Richmond International Airport Thursday when officers found a loaded firearm.

An x-ray scan of the woman’s carry-on luggage found a .38 caliber handgun, loaded at the time with five bullets. The firearm was seized by airport police, and the woman, unnamed by law enforcement, was issued a citation.

Thursday’s search and seizure was the third gun incident at Richmond International Airport in 2023; the airport had 24 such incidents in 2022, which broke a record.

The national total gun seizure record was also broken in 2022, with 6,542 guns seized at 262 out of the 430 airport checkpoints nationwide. 

The record-breaking number of guns found by TSA officials led the agency to increase the maximum civil penalty for a loaded firearm to $14,950.

“Unfortunately we are seeing too many travelers bring their loaded handguns to our security checkpoints. … Bringing a loaded gun to a checkpoint is a serious offense,” Richmond’s TSA Federal Security Director Robin Burke said.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.