“Last Friday, Rep. Sportz accidentally carried an empty handgun in her suitcase, with no magazine or bullets, that she didn’t realize was in a pocket of her suitcase while going through security at Dulles Airport,” the statement said.
Transportation Security Administration officials discovered an unloaded .380-caliber handgun in a passenger’s carry-on bag during a security check at the airport on Friday, a spokeswoman said. On Monday, a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority confirmed that the man charged in the incident was Sports, of Noblesville, Ind. A spokesman said Spartz was issued a summons to appear in Loudoun County Court, but declined to share more information about the arrest and charge, citing department policy.
The TSA found an average of 18 guns per day at airport security checkpoints last year, and 93 percent of guns were loaded. According to Company. Officials say they’ve seen an uptick in the number of guns recovered at Washington-area airports. The past several years.
Lori Aratani contributed to this report
