Nov. 23 – Allegheny County police charged an East Deer woman with bringing an unauthorized handgun into the main security checkpoint at Pittsburgh International Airport.
Lynda R. Lee, 61, of Creighton, East Deer, was passing through the U.S. Transportation Security Administration checkpoint shortly after 5 a.m. Saturday morning when officers noticed the gun in her purse.
Police said Lee did not have a valid concealed carry permit. She is suspected of carrying a firearm without a permit.
It is the 39th firearm intercepted by TSA agents at the airport this year. In 2023, Pittsburgh International security officers found 44 – the most ever at the airport.
When a gun is detected in the checkpoint’s X-ray unit, the conveyor belt is stopped and police are notified, the TSA said. Police remove carry-on luggage from the X-ray unit because TSA does not want its officers to handle firearms, and police determine whether a traveler is arrested or given a criminal citation.
No preliminary court hearing has been scheduled for Lee yet, according to court records.
Patrick Varine is a TribLive reporter for Delmont, Export and Murrysville. A native of Western Pennsylvania, he joined the Trib in 2010 after working as a reporter and editor at the former Dover Post Co. in Delaware. He can be reached at pvarine@triblive.com.
