DULLES, VA — Transportation Security Administration officers stopped a North Carolina man from bringing a handgun and ammunition onto a flight leaving Washington Dulles International Airport on Tuesday, according to a news release.

The .380 caliber handgun was loaded with six bullets, including one in the chamber. He also had an additional gun magazine loaded with five more bullets packed with the gun, TSA officials said.

The weapon was caught as the North Carolina man entered the security checkpoint. The checkpoint X-ray machine alerted the TSA officer who was staffing the X-ray monitor to take a closer look at the contents of the bag, according to TSA.

TSA officials notified the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority police who confiscated the gun and cited the man on a weapons charge.

Authorities said the man claimed that he forgot that he was traveling with his loaded gun and additional ammunition.

“If you own a firearm, you need to know where it is at all times,” said Scott T. Johnson, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport. “That is an important part about being a responsible gun owner.”

Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms only in checked baggage if they are properly packaged and declared at their airline ticket counter. Firearms must be unloaded, packed in a hard-sided locked case, and packed separately from ammunition. Then the locked case should be taken to the airline check-in counter to be declared.

TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm posted on its website.

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