Houston Rockets star Dwight Howard was detained Friday morning at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston after bringing a gun through airport security according to ESPN.
TMZ reports that the weapon in question was a loaded Glock 26 9mm with a round in the chamber that was left at the bottom of Howard’s carry on bag. (RELATED: Former Football Star Lawrence Phillips Charged With Murder)
Airport authorities allowed Howard to board the plane after he gave the gun to one of his friends to take home. It’s not necessarily a crime to accidentally bring a gun into airport security in Texas if the person responsible immediately leaves the area because of a recently passed law, according to The Dallas Morning News. However, the law didn’t become official until Sept. 1, which is a couple days after Howard was detained. It appears that the Houston District Attorney didn’t prosecute Howard because the event happened only days before the law became official.
Howard, the former first overall pick in the 2004 NBA draft, is a well-known Second Amendment enthusiast and has a gun collection of over 50 guns including some bazookas.