Convicted felon who fired gun at TSA checkpoint pleads guilty in court

ATLANTA, Ga. — We’re learning more about a man accused of accidentally firing a gun inside Atlanta’s airport more than a year ago.

Police say Kenny Wells discharged the weapon in the TSA line on Nov. 20, 2021. The sound of the gunshot in the busy atrium at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport caused panic and chaos for travelers who thought there may be an active shooter.

According to investigators, Wells ran from the airport after the gun went off and threw it in a nearby trashcan. He was captured three days later after Atlanta Police used airport surveillance video to find the gun.

On Wednesday, Wells pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Channel 2′s Investigative Reporter Mark Winne was in court for Wells’ plea.

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Ben Gibbons, Special Agent in charge for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), said Wells not only should not have had a gun at a TSA checkpoint at the airport. As a convicted felon, he should not have had a gun at all.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Jones, who represented the government in court, said Wells agreed to plead guilty to count one of a three-count indictment of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Jones said Wells purchased a ticket to New Orleans and left his boarding pass behind in a TSA bin after he grabbed a gun from one of his bags at a TSA checkpoint in Atlanta.

Gibbons said a TSA officer spotted something suspicious in a scan of the bag and when a second TSA officer had the bag, Wells acted.

“He reached inside the bag, presumably grabbed to retrieve the firearm and it discharged,” Gibbons said. “Nobody was hurt.”

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Now it appears that boarding pass and other evidence may be his ticket to a long term in federal prison.

According to the plea agreement, the government will recommend a sentence of 10 years imprisonment as long as Wells abides by certain terms and conditions.

It indicates the defense also agrees to a 10-year recommendation.

Count one of the indictment suggests Wells possessed a pistol knowing that he’d been convicted of at least one of a list of offenses — from forgery to burglary and more, including possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

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Jones said the judge may set sentencing for April.

Delta Airlines has expressed an interest in seeking restitution from Wells.

Atlanta Police Airport Precinct Commander Maj. Kelley Collier said good detective work, technology and partnership were keys to making an arrest in this case, along with the trail Wells left.

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