A man was arrested and charged after bringing a gun to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport Tuesday, police said.
According to authorities, the 53-year-old from St. Charles was taken into custody just before 1 p.m. Tuesday after a firearm was discovered in his bag while at the airport.
A Transportation Security Administration spokesperson said the gun was discovered in the bag during screening Tuesday afternoon.
"The Transportation Security Officer detected the image of a firearm inside the bag," the spokesperson said in a statement. "TSA policy in these instances is to keep the bag with the firearm inside the X-ray tunnel and contact Chicago PD. Before Chicago PD could arrive to take possession of the firearm, the passenger reached inside the X-ray machine, grabbed the bag, departed the checkpoint and went into the terminal area."
At that time, screening operations were suspended for Terminals 1 and 2 as TSA and law enforcement officials "tracked the passenger's movements through the terminal area" before he was arrested by CPD.
The man was charged with a misdemeanor count of concealed carry of a firearm at an airport.
Police said no injuries were reported and the firearm was "recovered on scene." An investigation remains ongoing.
Local
The Transportation Security Administration released a report earlier this year saying its agents confiscated 6,678 firearms at airport checkpoints in 2024.
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