More passengers try to board flight with loaded guns

WASHINGTON (AP):

At airports across the United States, passengers are trying to walk through security with loaded guns in their carry-on bags, purses or pockets, even in a boot. And, nearly a dozen years after the September 11, 2,001 attacks, it's happening a lot more often.

In the first six months of this year, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screeners found 894 guns on passengers or in their carry-on bags, a 30 per cent increase over the same period last year.

The TSA set a record in May for the most guns seized in one week, 65 in all, 45 of them loaded and 15 with bullets in the chamber and ready to be fired. That was 30 per cent more than the previous record of 50 guns, set just two weeks earlier.

Last year TSA found 1,549 firearms on passengers attempting to go through screening, up 17 per cent from the year before.