Transportation Security Administration officials say a Harford County man was arrested Saturday after attempting to carry a handgun past a security checkpoint at Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.

TSA officers say they detected the unloaded .25 caliber gun in a camera case when the man passed through the airport checkpoint. Officials said the man, a Fallston resident, told officers he forgot he had placed the handgun in his carry-on bag.

Maryland Transportation Authority police were contacted; the gun was confiscated and the man was arrested on weapons charges, officials said. Airport operations were not interrupted, TSA officials said.

Officials said passengers are permitted to travel with firearms in checked baggage if they are properly packaged and declared. They must be unloaded, placed in hard-side case, locked, and packed separately from ammunition.

In Maryland, if travelers bring firearms to the checkpoint, they can face criminal charges as well as civil penalties up to $11,000.

mcollins@baltsun.com