L.A. County deputy accidentally shoots co-worker during camping trip
Unintentional discharges of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department’s service weapon have gone up since the agency began using the Smith & Wesson M&P, pictured here.
A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy accidentally shot another deputy during an off-duty camping trip in Kern County, authorities said.
The shooting occurred Sunday morning in a remote area when one of the deputies accidentally discharged his off-duty weapon, wounding the other in the leg, the Sheriff’s Department said in a statement. The wounded deputy was treated for the non-life-threatening injury at a hospital.
In the meantime, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office is looking into the shooting, along with the L.A. County sheriff’s internal affairs and homicide bureaus, which will handle the departmental investigation.
The identities of the deputies were not immediately available, and it was unclear if the deputy who discharged his weapon was placed on leave.
Coincidentally, the Sheriff’s Department inspector general launched an investigation earlier this year into the rise in accidental shootings with the agency’s new service weapon.
Accidental gunshots by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies have more than doubled in two years.
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