“Last Friday, Congresswoman Spaatz accidentally brought an unloaded handgun into her suitcase while going through security at Dulles Airport, unaware that it was in her suitcase pocket,” the statement read.
Transportation Security Administration agents reported finding an unloaded .380-caliber handgun in a passenger’s carry-on baggage during security screening at the airport on Friday, a spokesman said. A Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority spokesman on Monday confirmed that Spaatz, of Noblesville, Indiana, is the person charged in the case. The spokesman said Spaatz has received a summons to appear in Loudoun County Court, but declined to disclose further details about the arrest and charges, citing agency policy.
According to the TSA, an average of 18 guns were seen at airport security checkpoints each day last year, and about 93 percent of them were loaded. The agency says it has seen an increase in the number of guns seized at Washington-area airports over the past few years.
Lori Aratani contributed to this report.
