ATLANTA — Police say they arrested an airport worker Tuesday who had a loaded semi-automatic pistol in her purse.
Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Winne found out about that arrest and another as he spoke with police about enhanced security at the airport.
Atlanta Police Airport Commander Major Lane Hagin told Winne that extra officers are on duty at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport this week for the anticipated extra travelers headed to the Masters Golf Tournament.
"We had two employees that were caught with weapons. One had a loaded pistol and the other had a stun gun. But really that's showing that the system is working. The things that we have in place are working,” Hagin told Winne.
Hagin said the most startling item in a restaurant worker's purse wasn't needed for food prep.
He said hours before Winne’s interview, a contract screener at an airport employee screening checkpoint discovered a loaded .380 semi-automatic pistol with a bullet in the chamber, in the purse of an airport restaurant employee attempting to enter the secure area of the airport.
Hagin told Winne the gun was confiscated and the employee taken to the Clayton County Jail on a misdemeanor gun charge.
He said the all-employee screening policy is one of numerous security upgrades at Hartsfield-Jackson in the last 18 months.
Hagin said he submitted a budget wish list to city officials around the time of the Paris attacks and every wish on it for this year has been granted.
“The dedication is definitely there from the mayor, the chief and the general manager to increase our capabilities,” Hagin said.
Hagin told Winne that the airport special response team will roughly double in size in the near future and other officers with similar training patrol with enhanced weaponry on overtime or when not tied up on other airport assignments.
Hagin said the dogs with handlers seen throughout the airport are explosive detection dogs that are part of a multi-layered approach invisible to the general public.
“Have there been changes made since Brussels?” Winne asked Hagin.
“Not so much since Brussels because we were already doing a lot of the progressive things. I feel like Brussels was a wake-up call but certainly it’s not something we had ruled out. We were aware that we could have that kind of problem.”
An airport representative told Winne the arrested restaurant employee told the arresting officer she meant to take the gun out of her bag and leave it in her car.
The officer said the stun gun was confiscated but that worker was not charged.