Woman caught with loaded gun at Maryland airport says her son placed it in her purse

A Virginia woman who was arrested Thursday at Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport in Maryland when she tried to board a flight carrying a loaded pistol told officials that her son placed the firearm in her purse, federal authorities said.

The Transportation Security Administration said officers at the security checkpoint found the .380 caliber semiautomatic handgun loaded with five bullets in the woman’s handbag after she placed her carry-on items on the X-ray conveyor belt.

Maryland Transportation Authority police said they arrested Vicki Tambellini, 57, of Kilmarnock, Virginia. Tambellini was charged with a state weapons charge, police said.

TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said the agency did not have any further information about the incident and referred questions to the Maryland Transportation Authority police, who made the arrest. An MDTA spokesman, Lt. KevinAyd, said Friday morning that an incident report was not available and that he did not have details about what the woman told TSA officials.

This was the 16th firearm confiscated at a BWI checkpoint this year. Three guns have been detected and confiscated at Reagan National and eight at Dulles International, according to TSA.

Nationwide, TSA officers have intercepted more than 1,500 guns at security checkpoints this year and are on pace to surpass their 2016 numbers. Last year, TSA officers detected 3,391 guns.

BWI has seen an increase in the number of confiscated guns. In 2016, TSA officers caught 24 firearms at the airport, up from 16 the previous year, 14 in 2015 and 13 in 2013.

About 3.5 million Americans are expected to travel by air this July 4 holiday, kicking off the busiest month of the summer travel season, and officials say travelers should keep in mind that weapons don’t fly. Passengers who bring firearms to the checkpoint can face criminal charges and civil penalties of up to $12,000.

Firearms and ammunition are not allowed in carry-on bags. They can be carried in checked baggage if they are unloaded and packed in a locked container. Passengers are required to declare that the gun is in the bag when they check it at the ticket counter.