NJ man held at gunpoint at Newark airport

A New Jersey man was arrested Friday at Newark Liberty International Airport after officers found a gun in his carry-on backpack at Terminal C security, officials said.

The Ridgewood resident told Transportation Security Administration officers he was armed because he had been a victim of crimes in the past, the TSA said in a statement.

“This is an understandable reason to own a firearm,” TSA Federal Director for New Jersey Thomas Carter said in a statement. “However, weapons are not permitted to be carried into the cabin of an airplane. As a result, this person will not only face criminal charges from the police, but he will also face a stiff federal economic civil penalty that will likely put him back for several thousand dollars.”

Guns can be carried on commercial flights if they are unloaded, packed in a locked hard-sided suitcase and declared to the airline while checking in.

Firearms are carried in the belly of the aircraft during flight.