Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – The Transportation Security Administration, the agency of the US Department of Homeland Security, announced the start of an investigation into the fact that a pistol crossed a checkpoint inside Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia, following an official statement.
A government official familiar with the incident told CNN that a passenger at Atlanta’s airport may have boarded the plane on Tuesday, carrying a suitcase containing a gun.
The official, who declined to be identified, said a check of the carry-on revealed an item likely to be a firearm.
The siren did not go off after the bag was re-passed through the screening machine, so the passenger was allowed to leave the checkpoint with his bag.
The Transportation Security Administration has not definitively identified the item, and does not know the identity of the traveler.
The official emphasized that the chance of this happening was “one in a million.”
What happened at the airport?
“There are unconfirmed reports of a firearm inserted at the TSA Southern Checkpoint at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport,” a statement from the Transportation Security Administration said.
“As a prudent security measure, the Transportation Security Administration has scanned the passenger terminal for the passenger carrying the hand bag in question,” the statement continued.
The official noted that the Transportation Security Administration later discovered the problem during a routine review of the scan technology’s images.
By the time they found it, the passenger was likely on the flight.”
During the investigation, the official said the initial indication was that the bag had been set aside after the siren sounded, but had not been subjected to a more detailed manual search.
Transportation Security Administration spokesman Carter Langston told CNN that the incident was still under investigation.
Weapons found ‘alarming rate’
In its statement, the Transportation Security Administration said its officers are finding weapons “at checkpoints at an alarming rate.”
Last year saw a record number of firearms seized at checkpoints, even though fewer people are traveling due to the pandemic.
“I think more people are carrying guns, generally in the country, and everything that’s happening in the country is reflected in our checkpoints,” Transportation Security Administration Administrator David Pekosky told CNN at the time.
Fines for bringing a handgun to a checkpoint run up to about $13,000.