A businessman traveling through DIA was startled Thursday morning when he found a handgun in a men’s bathroom stall at the airport.

The incident happened about 5:50 a.m. when Bob Young, of Ohio, stumbled upon the unattended weapon in a Concourse C restroom.

“Oh my God,” Young said. “It was unnerving to see it sitting there.”

Concourse C is beyond the main terminal, where all travelers go through security checkpoints.

Young immediately decided not to touch the weapon, which was in a holster and off to the side of a toilet. He was rushing to leave the restroom to alert airport security about the find when he nearly bumped into a security agent.

Young reported the gun and the agent immediately started typing out a text into a mobile phone. Other security agents arrived and the bathroom was cordoned off, Young said.

As he waited for his flight, Young, who travels extensively, was anxious about the incident, he said.

“I was tired getting up so early, but my eyes were wide open on the way home,” he said.

Investigators on Thursday determined who owned the gun.

The Transportation Security Administration, which screens airport travelers, said: “The individual was authorized to carry a firearm aboard an aircraft and was properly screened by TSA.”

Denver police took possession of the gun, said John White, a department spokesman.

“We confirmed who owned the weapon and released it to the appropriate agency,” White said.

White said there was no criminal element in the incident and no criminal charges would be pursued. He declined to identify the owner of the gun, or who the gun owner works for or represents.

TSA also declined to identify the gun owner.

Young, back home and reached by telephone, was relieved to know that investigators figured out how the weapon came to be in the restroom.

“At least they found out who it belongs to,” Young said. “And it wasn’t part of a terrorist attempt.”

Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822, knicholson@denverpost.com or twitter.com/kierannicholson