Green Bay Packers offensive lineman Rasheed Walker was arrested Friday morning at LaGuardia Airport in New York after authorities say he attempted to check a bag containing a handgun and ammunition. Walker, 25, was taken into custody at the airport’s Terminal C after telling a Delta Air Lines employee that his luggage contained a locked box holding a firearm, according to a criminal complaint obtained by the New York Post.
Port Authority police were alerted and searched the bag, where they found a 9mm Glock pistol and 36 rounds of ammunition secured inside the locked case.
Walker was charged with two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and one count of criminal possession of a firearm. He later appeared in Queens County Criminal Court on the gun charge and was released on his own recognizance. He is scheduled to return to court on March 19.
Walker’s attorney, Arthur Aidala, said the incident stemmed from a misunderstanding and that the firearm was legally licensed in Wisconsin, adding that Walker was unaware he could not travel with it in New York.
“It was in a locked box and he disclosed it to the people at the airport,” Aidala told the New York Post. “He told a person from Delta he was traveling with a firearm. He mistakenly thought because he had a licensed firearm and it was in a locked box that he was able to travel with it. We are confident the case will be dismissed.”
Selected by the Packers in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft, Walker has developed into a starting left tackle over his four pro seasons. Over the past three seasons, he has appeared in 51 games, making 48 starts. He started 16 of the team’s 17 games this season — the final year of his rookie contract — and is about to enter free agency.
The Packers have not issued a public statement regarding Walker’s arrest.
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