San Diego

A 26-year-old security guard who died of an accidental, self-inflicted gunshot wound has been identified by authorities.

Michael Lee Foncannon of Santee died at 6:25 p.m. Thursday at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla after undergoing surgery for a gunshot wound to the abdomen, said John Armendariz, a county medical examiner’s investigator.

Foncannon, who worked as a guard for Strategic Security Services in San Diego, was found about three hours earlier in a car after he had called his employer, saying he had been shot, San Diego police Sgt. Pete Munholand said. The car was parked in the 9600 block of Black Gold Road in La Jolla, Munholand said.

A .22-caliber rifle was found in a bush near the car, Munholand said. “It was an accidental discharge and it struck him in the abdomen,” he said.

Foncannon was patrolling the residential area in the company car and was to go off duty at 4 p.m., said John Farmer, a spokesman for Strategic Security Services.

“On that particular post, they don’t call in unless there’s a problem,” Farmer said. “He called in to say that he had been shot, and his supervisor called 911.”

Foncannon had worked for the security firm for only a few weeks, Farmer said.

An autopsy was planned.