A St. Albans man was arrested by the Port Authority Police Department after a loaded handgun was detected in his backpack at a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint at Terminal C in LaGuardia Airport on Wednesday, July 31.
Anthony Richard Morgan, 31, was checking in for a flight to Greensboro, North Carolina, when the firearm was detected in his backpack. The backpack was automatically diverted to a different conveyor belt to be held for law enforcement to inspect.
Morgan lost his cool and jumped onto the rollers, grabbed his backpack and made a run for it. Surveillance cameras showed TSA officers reacting immediately, giving chase while Morgan fled until the officer caught up to him.
Morgan was tackled and the officers removed the backpack from his possession, which was found to contain a loaded 9 mm handgun with a bullet in the chamber. They held Morgan while waiting for Port Authority police to arrive.
“This was a very dangerous situation that resulted in a temporary five-minute closure of the checkpoint until we were certain that there was no threat to the security and safety of individuals in the immediate area,” said Robert Duffy, TSA’s Federal Security Director for LaGuardia Airport. “When someone has possession of a loaded gun in an airport, there is no way of knowing what his intention may be.”
Port Authority Police took Morgan into custody and charged him with criminal possession of a weapon. He also faces a stiff financial civil penalty. Civil penalties for carrying weapons can reach a maximum of $15,000. PAPD transported Morgan to New York State Courts and the case is currently being investigated by the FBI.
“In this instance, when he climbed over the conveyor belt, grabbed the backpack and took off, our officer feared the worst,” Duffy said. “Fortunately, we were able to subdue the individual. Our partnership with the Port Authority Police Department resulted in the confiscation of the firearm and the man’s arrest. Bottom line is that the situation was resolved without anyone getting harmed.”
It was the seventh gun that TSA officers have detected at LaGuardia Airport checkpoints so far this year. Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms only in checked baggage if they are unloaded and packed in a hard-sided locked case. Then the locked case should be taken to the airline check-in counter to be declared. TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm posted on its website.
