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Man Stopped by TSA As Gun Seen on X-Ray—but There’s a Twist
0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. A man flying home after visiting his father in Hawaii left Transportation Security Administration agents baffled when an X-ray scan of his carry-on bag revealed something alarming.
TSA agents screen more than 900 million passengers at U.S. airports every year, but one traveler's carry-on stood out for an especially unusual reason.
Dr. Jay Calvert, a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, was at the airport on Oahu heading home when he spotted the image of his bag on a TSA scanner and began to suspect there might be a problem.
“There was a lot of hubbub as the TSA agent reviewing the scan thought it looked very suspicious,” Calvert told Newsweek . “He called his supervisor over, and then they isolated the bag.”
Calvert took a picture of the scanner image. As it showed, the issue stemmed from the fact that it appeared he had two guns in his carry-on bag.
“At first, I was scared that I was gonna get taken into custody because it looked so scary on the screen,” he said.
Of course, there was a logical explanation.
“My father bought me a wall hanging featuring two plastic guns and the words, ‘We Don't Call 911,’” Calvert said. “He thought I might find it amusing.”
Without thinking, Calvert had packed the wall hanging in his carry-on luggage and had all but forgotten about it until he saw it on the scanner.
The TSA prohibits realistic replica firearms in carry-on luggag e, although they can generally be transported in checked baggage, subject to airline and TSA rules.
Toy guns are usually allowed, but anything that closely resembles a real firearm may be stopped at security. As a result, the TSA recommends packing gun-like items in checked luggage.
Replica grenades and other fake explosives should never be brought on flights. The TSA prohibits replica explosives in both carry-on and checked baggage.
When TSA agents first opened Calvert's bag, he recalled their reaction as being “quite striking.” However, the situation was quickly resolved when they realized the item was not made of metal.
“They just didn't know exactly what it was,” Calvert said. “So everything deescalated when the supervisor came over and more or less said, ‘Don't worry about it. Let's just take a look and make sure it's OK.’ They opened it, saw that it was a wall hanging and then, obviously, sent me on my way.”
While unusual items occasionally raise eyebrows at airport security, TSA officers routinely encounter firearms, intercepting 6,678 guns at checkpoints across the U.S. in 2024 alone , an average of more than 18 per day.
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