Man arrested after gun found at Newark Airport security checkpoint

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NEWARK, N.J. (1010 WINS) -- Officials arrested a Pennsylvania man after security officials discovered a handgun at a checkpoint at Newark Liberty International Airport security, authorities said Monday.

A Transportation Security Administration officer stopped the 37-year-old Lehigh Valley resident after a .357 caliber handgun was found at a security checkpoint in Terminal C on Sunday.

Port Authority Police were alerted when the TSA officer spotted the gun in the checkpoint X-ray machine and confiscated the weapon from the traveler, authorities said.

Officials charged the man with unlawful possession of a weapon.

"Individuals who want to bring their guns with them when they fly need to pack them properly in their checked luggage, and declare them at their airline check-in counter to be transported in the belly of the plane where nobody has access to firearms during a flight," said Thomas Carter, TSA’s Federal Security Director for New Jersey.

Last month, TSA announced that the penalty for bringing weapons to the airport increased and can reach as high as $15,000.

The gun arrest was the first of 2023 at Newark airport.