A man who showed up at Los Angeles International Airport on Friday with a container of handguns, rifles and loaded ammunition magazines in his pickup truck was arrested, an airport official said.
Los Angeles Airport Police officers stopped the Chevy Silverado at 10:49 a.m. at a checkpoint on westbound Century Boulevard at Sepulveda Boulevard, one of the main entrances into the passenger terminal area, said Nancy Suey Castles of Los Angeles World Airports.
What started out as a routine inspection of the truck uncovered a small arsenal of weaponry.
Early in the day, Castles said 37 guns were found. A final count revealed a smaller amount.
"After unpacking and counting all items, the total count is 10 handguns, five rifles, an antique black-powder musket, and nearly 1,000 rounds of ammunition were found in several boxes in the back of the truck," Castles said. "One of the handguns and the musket were loaded."
The man was handcuffed and taken to the airport police station, and an officer drove the truck to the police station from the checkpoint, Castles said.
"The driver was arrested at 12:20 p.m. for weapons transportation violations, and will be booked at the (Los Angeles Police Department's) Pacific Division," Castles said.
The driver told police he was coming to the airport to pick someone up.
"I'm a nice guy. I'm trying to be nice and cooperative -- it doesn't work," the man said, as he was being escorted by police.
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Personnel from the LAPD, the FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were involved in the investigation.
"As to what he was doing here at the airport, there's no indication that there was any overall evil intent," said Sgt. Jim Holcomb of the Los Angeles World Airport Police.
The vehicle was registered to an Orange County development company.
