Florida man arrested by NJ cops for bringing ‘arsenal of deadly weapons’ on a train
Last year, nearly 33 million people in the United States rode the rails on Amtrak trains. But not one of those travelers got busted with a zebra-print bag full of guns. That is, until now. New Jersey authorities indicted a Florida man after he tried to board a Virginia-bound train with multiple loaded firearms.
Police in New Jersey busted a Florida man for trying to travel with a bag full of guns and ammunition
34-year-old Jeffrey O. Kennerk bought a ticket on a Virginia-bound Amtrak train. He had multiple suitcases with him, including a black-and-white, zebra-patterned bag. Kennerk set the bag down and left it unattended at New Jersey’s Penn Station. The unattended bag caused alarm among the station’s authorities.
After a K-9 unit cleared the bag of explosives, police inspected its contents. It held a 9mm Girsan Regard MC handgun with a loaded 18-round magazine, a Zastava AK-platform rifle, and ammo for the lot. In another of Kennerk’s bags, the Florida man had an AR-platform rifle and another rifle chambered in .300 AAC Blackout, a common caliber for suppressed rifle applications. At the mention of suppressed weapons, Kennerk’s bags also contained four suppressors and other equipment.
Worse yet, the AG’s office says that a police officer discharged the AR-style rifle while attempting to render it safe. However, the office asserts that the rifle was “allegedly booby-trapped,” and that the shot wasn’t negligence on the officer’s part.
Today, the New Jersey Attorney General’s office says the state is indicting Kennerk for his “blatant disregard for public safety.” “The defendant allegedly hauled a small arsenal of deadly weapons and ammunition through busy transit stations, and on a train filled with passengers,” Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said in a public statement.
Now, Amtrak allows passengers to take their firearms on its trains. But there’s a caveat. A couple of them, really. For starters, the company’s weapons policy says that firearms must be stored in checked baggage, not freely toted around in a zebra-striped carry-on.
Further, firearm owners have to declare their guns to Amtrak no later than one day before their journey. Moreover, unlike all of Kennerk’s firearms, weapons must be unloaded. Clearly, the Florida man missed the memo.
