LOS ANGELES
More guns found at airports
The Transportation Security Administration has been breaking records for the number of guns that security officers find on passengers and in their carry-on luggage. Last year, TSA agents seized 3,391 guns, or an average of nine a day, at the nation’s airports, a 28 percent increase from 2015. Now, the TSA has set a new record. On Feb. 23, agents at various airports found 21 guns in a single day, breaking the previous one-day high of 18 firearms found on June 4, 2014. TSA officials won’t speculate about whether the record-setting pace of firearm seizures is the result of more air passengers, improved screening methods or both.
KENT, WASH.
Sikh man shot by stranger
Police in a Seattle suburb were looking for a gunman who shot a Sikh man in the arm and told him to “go back to your own country,” the Seattle Times reported. The victim — a 39-year-old man who observes the Sikh faith — told police that he was working in his driveway about 8 p.m. Friday when the unknown man came up to him, the Times reported. Male observant Sikhs often cover their heads with turbans, which are considered sacred, and refrain from shaving their beards. An argument ensued, and the suspect told him to go back to his homeland, the victim said. The victim told police the man then shot him in the arm. Kent police said the agency has contacted the FBI.
WOODBRIDGE, VA.
Guard is stabbed to death
Police say a security guard at a northern Virginia mall died Saturday after being stabbed by a shoplifter who fled the scene. Prince William County Police said officers responded to the Potomac Mills Mall in Woodbridge around 2:30 p.m. Saturday after a stabbing was reported. Police say the suspect was seen shoplifting inside a Burlington Coat Factory and two loss-prevention employees confronted him. A struggle ensued, and one of the guards was stabbed. Officers searched the area but did not find the suspect.
WASHINGTON
MLK library closing for 3 years
Washington’s central library is now officially closed for three years of renovations. The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library closed Saturday and isn’t expected to reopen until 2020. The library system says the updated “flagship” branch will have a large auditorium and conference center, a cafe, a newly designed special collections space for researchers and rooftop event space.
Compiled from wire reports