US: Airport security confiscated nearly 4000 guns, grenades in 2017

There was a realistic-looking replica of a suicide vest found in a checked bag at an airport in El Paso. A block of inert explosives was discovered in a carry-on bag at an airport in Florida. Hand grenades were confiscated from luggage at airports all over the country. These, along with 3957 firearms, were among the items discovered by agents from the TSA at airport security checkpoints in 2017. In its "TSA Year in Review" report, the agency said a "record-setting" number of firearms were found in carry-on bags. With nearly 4000 firearms for the year, that translates to about 10 firearms a day. That's up roughly 17% from 2016, when 3391 firearms were found at checkpoints, TSA said. And the number of firearms found has risen steadily since TSA began tracking the number in 2005, when 660 firearms were found.<br/>According to the agency 2m travellers a day went through security check points last year and a total of 771.5m passengers were screened. TSA said nearly 35% of the firearms found had a round in the chamber. And "the most firearms discovered in one-month - a whopping 31″ were found in August at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, according to the report.<br/>It wasn't just guns. Passengers also tried to board with numerous other hazardous items.<br/>