TSA finds 10th gun at Salt Lake City airport

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Transportation Security Administration officials found another firearm in a passenger's carry-on luggage at Salt Lake City International Airport Wednesday, bringing the number of such weapons to 10 so far this year.

TSA officials found a loaded .22-caliber Magnum mini-revolver in a passenger's bag at the security checkpoint Wednesday night. The man had been on his way to Ontario, Calif. The airport police cited him for possession of a concealed weapon.

The discovery puts the airport already halfway to last year's total — in 2012, the TSA found 20 firearms at the airport security checkpoint.

One of the 10 firearms found this year belonged to Patrick Byrne, CEO of Overstock.com. That was during a three-day stretch in January when TSA officials found one gun a day.

The TSA allows passengers to take an unloaded gun in checked baggage, but only if it is in a locked, hard-sided container and declared to the airline. A firearm is never allowed in carry-on baggage.

mmcfall@sltrib.com