An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer’s gun was found unattended in a men’s restroom past the security checkpoint at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) on July 21.
The unattended firearm was discovered by a flight attendant, who reported it to airport security; security then closed the bathroom and called 911.
The big picture: San Francisco police arrived within minutes and were present when the ICE officer returned to retrieve the forgotten gun; it remains unclear how long the weapon was left unattended.
The incident was reported to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for potential follow-up action.
State of play: The airport’s involvement was limited due to sanctuary city policies and lack of information about ICE operations on site.
The next day, Ukrainian immigrant Iryna Gorb was arrested at SFO by ICE in a separate, widely publicized incident; a public records request about her arrest revealed the gun discovery.
Since March, three ICE-related arrests have occurred at SFO, with public scrutiny and outcry following some of the incidents, according to airport officials.