Guns at O'Hare are disappearing firearms being stolen from checked bags

The Chicago Tribune ^ | August | David Heinzmann and Josh Noel

[LurkedLongEnough]

Several handguns have been stolen from bags checked by police officers, military personnel and others on United Airlines flights departing O'Hare International Airport, sparking concern that the weapons are loose in what is supposed to be a secure part of the airport.

Since the beginning of the year, there have been "a handful" of firearm thefts from luggage being handled by United personnel, Chicago police spokeswoman Monique Bond said. Bags containing guns also have disappeared, authorities said.

News of an investigation surfaced days after new security restrictions were placed on airports across the nation in the wake of British authorities foiling what they said was a plot to blow up U.S.-bound airplanes.

Aviation security experts said stealing from checked luggage long has been a problem at many airports and that guns are a favored target because they are easy to smuggle out and easy to sell.

Still another concern is that putting something into a bag could be just as easy as taking an item out, experts said.

"It's a problem at every airline and every airport," said aviation security consultant Douglas Laird.

[CindyDawg]

When they come in too. Items stolen can be replaced but if they can take stuff out , they can easily put stuff in.

[blau993]

Make em take their shoes off too!

[irv]

This reads like a backlash hit piece on the 2nd Amendment.

It reads like what it is. Reporters hate guns and the people who carry them (except thugs and terrorists, who are poor misunderstood victims)

[irv]

The cops and soldiers should be required to carry their guns on the plane, loaded and ready for bear.

Sorry. That makes too much sense. The TSA would never allow it.

[blau993]

Do you put that "vault like bag" inside another suitcase? I couldn't imagine that you could fit much else in the suitcase at that point.

Is your theory behind the big vault with the stout lock that it will be harder for the baggage handler or TSA stooge to walk out with the entire bag?

[calex59]

Do they still require you to mark it as a firearm? I thought that was done away with. X-rays will clearly show there is a firearm in the baggage, the perps are obviously working at the airports.

[Atlas Sneezed]

...bags MUST have a big bold tag on the outside declaring the firearm...

---

Add a "NOT" after "MUST", and your statement will be legally correct.

[Ghengis]

I have done security work for a large, international corporation. A laptop with proprietary information (issued to an executive in the company) was "lost" in the Dulles airport at a terminal for a major airline. I went round and round with the airline's Lost and Found and internal Security Department.

I finally reminded their Security Director of the amount of $$ my client spent on their airline each year for corporate travel. I then suggested that their staff check in their 'unofficial' Lost and Found where an item may not have yet been logged into their Lost and Found system.

Miraculously the laptop, safe and sound, was found within 10 minutes and on the next flight to the executive's home city within 90 minutes.

[Atlas Sneezed]

The last time I flew with my guns, they had to be declared and locked in a FAA approved hard case made specifically for carrying firearms. Very easy to spot one.

---

Huh?

If you have a handgun, you put it in a small locked case (like it came in) and put it in your ordinary, regular suitcase. FAA regulations prohibit marking the exterior of the suitcase to indicate its contents.

Any hard-sided rifle case is permitted, but that is not the topic of the article.

[Right Wing Assault]

"Nobody has ever really resolved a real way around it," Laird said. "There's a real dilemma with baggage theft in the airline industry."

Come on! Let me and a crew into O'Hare and I bet we could stop it real fast. Alarmed decoy bags with dye as someone mentioned; bags with flash cameras inside so the dude gets his picture taken (and craps his pants) and pic is transmitted to security; ransom lie detector tests; more security cameras; undercover baggage dudes; search baggage people when they leave; etc. Word would get out real fast.

[dhuffman@awod.com]

Which part of 'shall not be infringed' do you not understand? Screw 'em. They're just citizens like you maybe and me for certain. Either we are equal or we are not. Thank goodness you're not tyrant. tagline...

[theBuckwheat]

>>
Until airports stop hiring from the lowest dregs of society to be baggage handlers, the problem will not be curtailed.
<<

You will recall that when federalizing of the airport security workers was being discussed in the Senate, the libs scolded opponents that paying them as federal employees would make them more "professional".

My father used to say that you can put pigs in the Hilton, but they are still pigs. The behavior of TSA screeners and baggage handlers comes from the demographics of the people who apply for the job. Until you change that, nothing will change.

[Atlas Sneezed]

They rip off handguns, not rifles. Easier to smuggle out, and there is a much better black market.

[Blueflag]

Well, it HAS been 30 years since I checked a firearm. My bad.

[Argus]

Hey, I wish we could all go armed on planes but that's obviously never gonna happen. But at least if there are some armed cops or soldiers on board, that's something.

[Atlas Sneezed]

"...ransom lie detector tests..."

I really hope that is NOT a typo, because it is a GREAT idea as typed"

[freedumb2003]

"Yeah, guns running around "loose" in the airport is a real problem.

What if they meet up with a gang of marauding SUVs? Would mayhem ensue?

The only solution is to ban bipods. Without legs for support, the guns can't run around loose"

LOL!! You guys are great!

[hometoroost]

And they shouldn't be allowed to bring in any liquids!

[ketelone]

You know you have to leave all your baggage unlocked when you board?

[samm1148]

No you are wrong. The plethora of laws restricting gun ownership among law abiding citizens, work. These baggage handling people would of course realize that they couldn't get away with it: The purchasers would have to register their stolen firearms.

If you believe that one have I got a deal for you!