NEED TO KNOW

• Meagan and Issac were set to fly to Italy for their wedding when TSA discovered a pistol in Issac’s carry-on bag

• The couple shared their story in a TikTok that quickly went viral, drawing sharp criticism from strangers

• Her husband cautions others to be more mindful of their firearms

A Tennessee couple’s trip to Italy for their wedding nearly ended before it began when security officers discovered a firearm inside one of their carry-on bags.

Bride-to-be Meagan (who, like her fiancé Isaac, has asked not to use her last name) went through security first, waiting for her bag on the conveyor belt. Moments later, officers pulled Issac’s backpack aside for a secondary inspection. Inside, they found a pistol.

“I kind of thought they were messing with me at first, because the TSA lady brought my bag over and said, ‘You’re in trouble,’ ” Issac tells PEOPLE. “And I was like, okay, what for?’ And she said, ‘You brought a gun.’ And then I kind of laughed and said, ‘No, but really?’ And she said, ‘No, there’s a gun in your bag.’ And I said, ‘Oh God.’ ”

In Tennessee, persons 21 or older are legally allowed to carry a loaded handgun, openly or concealed, without having a permit, so long as they purchased the handgun lawfully and they are in “a place where they are lawfully present,” per the Memphis Police Department. Packing firearms in carry-on luggage is prohibited by federal regulations, and passengers found in violation face fines, questioning and potential criminal investigation.

Issac was taken to a separate room where he underwent more than an hour of questioning. Authorities conducted a background check and coordinated with the FBI to determine whether further action was needed. “They took me to a room for questioning, ran a background check, had to talk with the FBI, verify that I did not mean to do that,” he says.

During this process, Meagan waited in the terminal, as their wedding timeline depended on arriving in Italy with enough time to prepare.

“The only thing I was thinking was if we don’t make this flight, we will have to find another flight,” Meagan tells PEOPLE. “I wanted to get to Italy and make sure that we had enough time just to get rid of jet lag, get acclimated. I knew that we had two full days to get it worked out and get there regardless. So that was some sort of relief, but I was still panicking because I like things to go according to plan, and they were not going to plan at all.”

With minutes to spare before the plane departed, officers cleared Issac and allowed him to board. Once on the flight, Meagan decided to share the story on TikTok, though she did not anticipate the level of attention it would draw.

“People didn’t follow me unless they knew me,” she says. “People know our sense of humor, the way that we talk, the way that we are if they’re around us in person. So I posted it just in a moment of like, once again, this would happen to us, you know, a series of unfortunate events.”

By the time she checked her phone after boarding, notifications had already surged. “When we finally boarded the plane, and I sat down and looked at my phone, and I pulled up my TikTok — the notifications at the top were like 5,205,” she says. “I looked at him and I said, ‘You [watch], this will be the video that goes viral, for what reason? I don’t know.’ ”

The video quickly spread, sparking widespread debate in the comments. Many commenters criticized Issac for bringing a gun into an airport without realizing it. “A lot of the comments pertain to, ‘This is very irresponsible, you should know where all your guns are at any time,’ ” Meagan says. Others suggested that the situation raised serious concerns about firearm storage.

Some commenters even said they would have ended the relationship rather than continue the trip. “Surprisingly, a lot of comments said, ‘I would’ve broke up with him for this. I would’ve left and went on that trip by myself,’ ” she notes.

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“I’m like, guys, it’s not that serious. These things happen,” she says, “And then there were comments of people saying, and I’ve had people message me personally and say, ‘This happened to us.’ So there were other people who related and who were being nice, but a lot of the people were not nice.”

Issac acknowledges the seriousness of the situation and says he hopes the incident serves as a reminder to other travelers.

“I never thought I would make a mistake like that, but in the rush of things, I was negligent,” he admits. “Maybe somebody will think twice about it if, say, they’re in a carry state or they carry often.” He also expressed appreciation for how TSA and law enforcement handled the process.

Despite the disruption and the online criticism, the couple went forward with their trip and their wedding in Italy as planned. The couple said they now view the airport ordeal as part of the larger story of their marriage.

Read the original article on People