(WXIA) – An Atlanta man is speaking out after he said he took a loaded gun through security at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and managed to fly to Chicago with his weapon in his carry-on bag under his seat the entire flight.
"I said, 'Mother of God,'" Blake Alford said when he arrived in his hotel room and unpacked his loaded gun.
"I had it laying in my backpack right there," he said.
He said he unknowingly got the weapon through security, an honest mistake on his part, while he rushed through a busy TSA line.
In a statement, the TSA said, in part, "it will take necessary action - if substantiated. TSA is rigorous in its screening of passengers and their luggage. This year, to date, TSA has caught about 2,500 guns."
"I'm hoping TSA will tighten up," Alford said.