NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) prevented a man from carrying a loaded gun on a plane at Tweed Airport on Thursday.

TSA detected the gun in the man’s carry-on bag and quickly notified the New Haven Police Department. Police found a loaded 9mm gun with a round in the chamber. He has a permit to carry the gun in Connecticut and was traveling to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He was not arrested.

The man claimed he forgot to put the bag in his checked luggage, according to the TSA.

“Even if you have a valid permit to carry, there are proper procedures you still have follow in order to travel with a firearm,” said William Csontos, TSA Federal Security Director for Connecticut. “When traveling with a firearm, gun owners need to have a permit to carry, and ensure the firearm is in a locked hard-sided container as checked baggage only. Finally, they need to declare the firearm and/or ammunition to the airline when checking their bag at the ticket counter.”

This was the eighth firearm detection in Connecticut this year and the third at Tweed Airport. There were a record 47 firearm detections at New England security checkpoints in 2022.

TSA reserves the right to issue a civil penalty to travelers who have guns with them at a checkpoint. A typical first offense for carrying a loaded gun into a checkpoint is $3,000 and can go as high as $15,000.

Passengers are allowed to travel with firearms as long as the gun is unloaded, packed separately from ammunition and declared at the check-in counter.