TAMPA, Fla. — A federal judge sentenced a Lakeland man to prison after he brought a loaded gun into the Tampa International Airport last year.
Abraham Othman Yacoub, 26, pleaded guilty to bringing a Glock in his bag. He arrived at the airport to board a flight to Las Vegas just before 8 p.m. on Aug. 4, 2023 but was arrested when TSA electronically screened his items and spotted the gun.
While TSA agents were trying to locate the bag with the gun inside, Yacoub took his bag, went to the bathroom, wrapped the gun in toilet paper and put it in a trash can. After he got back from the bathroom, he lied to TSA agents and said he did not bring the gun into the airport.
During the incident, passengers were evacuated, delaying numerous flights. Airport police officers searched the bathroom that Yacoub entered and found the gun with fourteen 9mm rounds of ammunition inside a magazine and inside the gun, according to a news release by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.
He was arrested and indicted on two felony charges. He was charged with one count of violating airport security requirements and one count of attempted possession of a dangerous weapon on an aircraft.
The judge sentenced him to three years and six months.
The Hillsborough County Aviation Authority Rules and Regulations for the airport state that nobody can carry a gun or concealed weapon inside the passenger terminal except for law enforcement, according to a news release. The airport also has multiple signs posted saying that firearms are prohibited.
Officials said this is Yacoub's second time bringing a gun into a Florida airport. In late 2020, he brought a gun into the TSA area of an airport in Miami-Dade County, which he also pleaded guilty to.
TSA officers across Florida airports have discovered fewer guns this year than in 2023 with a total of 382 between Jan. 1 and June 30. 2023's total was 396 in that same time frame.
Regardless of whether the individual is arrested or cited by law enforcement partners, passengers face a civil penalty imposed by the TSA that can reach nearly $15,000, TSA said in a news release.
If a person wants to bring their gun on the plane, it needs to be in a checked bag. All firearms have to be unloaded and in a locked, hard-sided case that is declared to the airline at check-in.