A loaded .22-caliber semiautomatic gun was in a carry-on bag that a man brought Friday to Eppley Airfield in Omaha, authorities said.

Transportation Security Administration officers found the gun during routine screening at the airport's North security checkpoint, a spokeswoman for the agency said.

The man, whom the spokeswoman did not identify, was interviewed and cleared to fly. He was headed to Houston.

Omaha Airport Authority police took custody of the weapon, a Ruger.

The man's gun was the fourth firearm discovered by the TSA at Eppley during checkpoint screenings this year, the spokeswoman said. At other airports in the country, TSA officers have found a total of about 830 firearms in passengers' carry-on bags from January to July, she said.

Firearms, ammunition, firearm parts and realistic replicas of firearms are prohibited in carry-on baggage, the spokeswoman said.