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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Boise

Whoops: People flying out of Boise airport are increasingly forgetting they’re carrying loaded guns

People flying out of the Boise airport are increasingly bringing loaded guns with them in their purses or carry-ons, the Idaho Statesman reports, and that’s not legal. In 2016, a record 18 guns were confiscated at the Boise airport security checkpoint; this year, it’s on pace to surpass that, with four already found so far.

“That’s the big concern for us, that there’s a trend, and the trend is not a good one,” Andrew Coose, the airport’s TSA federal security director, told the Statesman.

The most recent incident was just last week, when a woman in the TSA pre-check lane was found to have a loaded Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 380 handgun in her purse. The Statesman reported that the woman “appeared mortified, apologizing while a Boise police officer escorted her to a nearby office.”

Lorie Dankers, TSA regional spokeswoman, told the Statesman, “It’s our trusted-traveler land. That person is no longer a trusted traveler.”

Statesman reporter Kristin Rodine writes that police say most violators, including the woman last week, say the gun was inadvertently left in the purse or bag, and express no malicious motives. But Coose said firearms on board a pressurized aircraft “present a significant hazard.”

The paper published a front-page article today headlined “Flying out of Boise? Please pack your gun the right way.” It’s online here. The right way is only secured in checked baggage, unloaded, and declared to the airline.



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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