Mom taking child to airport gate caught with loaded gun at JFK: TSA

NEW YORK (PIX11) --- A woman was caught with a loaded gun while taking her child to a gate at JFK Airport on Friday, authorities said.

The woman did not have a plane ticket but was issued a gate pass from the airline to allow her to bring her child to the gate, according to the Transportation Security Administration. But officials seized the weapon at a security checkpoint when it was spotted in a bag in the x-ray machine, the TSA said.

The .22 caliber gun had nine bullets, including one in the chamber, officials said. Port Authority police arrested the mother on weapons charges. The woman faces a civil penalty of up to $15,000, according to the TSA.

This was the first gun TSA seized at the airport this year. Last year, seven weapons were confiscated at JFK security checkpoints, officials said.