Airline employee charged after loaded gun found in carry-on bag at MSP Airport

A Buffalo, Minn., man who works for an airline was charged after a loaded gun was discovered last week in his carry-on bag at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, according to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and police.

TSA officers discovered the firearm at the south security checkpoint in Terminal 1 just after 5 p.m. Thursday after the employee was randomly selected for screening. MSP Airport Police responded to the checkpoint after a TSA officer detected the image of a handgun on an X-ray screen during the screening, authorities said Tuesday.

Airport Police subsequently charged Jordan Aloysius Carlson, 22, with presenting a prohibited item at checkpoint screening. Carlson was booked and released Thursday, and police said the investigation was ongoing.

While TSA described Carlson as an "airline employee," police did not identify his employer.

"Our officers are focused on ensuring that firearms and other weapons do not make it through our security checkpoints," Marty Robinson, TSA's federal security director for Minnesota, said in a statement.

He added: "Firearms should never be brought to the security checkpoint in carry-on luggage, and airline employees should certainly be aware of that."

TSA said this was the 49th firearm detected so far this year at MSP. In February, a TSA officer confiscated two loaded handguns in carry-on bags in separate incidents at MSP. Last year, some 58 firearms were discovered at MSP security checkpoints, rising slightly from the 56 in 2021.

TSA recently announced that officers intercepted 5,072 firearms at airport security checkpoints nationwide through Sept. 30. At the current rate, the agency said, last year's record of 6,452 firearms detected will be surpassed in 2023.

People charged with a firearm violation can be fined nearly $15,000 for the offense, TSA said. A violator's TSA PreCheck privileges also are revoked for at least five years.

Passengers can travel with firearms in checked luggage if they are unloaded, packed separately from ammunition in a locked hardback case, and declared at the airline check-in counter, TSA said.

Since state and local firearm possession laws vary, TSA said travelers should check the laws in the areas they are flying to and from, as well as the airline they are traveling on.

More details on how to travel legally with a firearm are available on TSA's website.