CABELL COUNTY, WV (WOWK) – The Transportation Security Administration says a loaded handgun was confiscated from an Ohio man on Friday at Huntington Tri-State Airport.

According to the TSA, the security checkpoint X-ray unit detected a handgun in a Chesapeake, Ohio, man’s carry-on bag this morning, Friday, Feb. 17. The TSA says they found the gun loaded with five bullets.

Local police responded to the airport and confiscated the gun. The TSA says police also cited the man on a weapons charge. According to officials, the man also faces a “stiff” financial civil penalty from the TSA as the penalty for carrying weapons recently increased to a maximum of $15,000.

In 2022, authorities caught a total of 6,542 firearms among 262 out of 430 airport security checkpoints across the country, according to the TSA. Officials say 83% of those guns were loaded.