Officer Accidentally Shot Herself Responding To A Crime Off Duty: Prince George's Police

UPPER MARLBORO, MD — A Prince George's County police officer who accidentally shot herself while responding to an active crime scene as an off-duty officer was listed in stable condition following surgery, according to the police department.

Prince George's Police Department Chief Aziz Malik said the officer was off duty she and a man were headed to a home on Squire Road in Upper Marlboro for a hair appointment from a barber who operates a business out of the home.

On a phone call, the officer overheard a confrontation involving the barber and another man in the home. The officer believed it was a robbery in progress and called 911, which is protocol, Malik said.

When the officer arrived at the crime scene in her own vehicle, she parked and reached for her gun, then accidentally shot herself. The officer — who authorities have not identified — required surgery at the University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center.

"It appears she accidentally discharged her weapon while retrieving her firearm, striking herself once," Malik told WUSA9. "She was in the area and she did what she was supposed to do. She called 911 to get additional officers to the scene, and that is what we train for, to take those kinds of precautions when she believed some kind of offense was happening that could cause harm to an individual or herself. We don’t stop being police officers when we’re off duty. We don’t have that kind of luxury."

The officer has been with the police department for about one year and has been on the street for a couple of months, Malik said.

Detectives have interviewed the individuals involved in this incident, and at this time, there are no pending charges against anyone involved in the confrontation at the home, the police department noted.