LONG BEACH (CNS) - A retired 54-year-old police sergeant suffered a wound to his lower body when he accidentally fired a gun while inside a gas station in Long Beach, police said today.
Officers were dispatched about 7:30 p.m. Friday to the gas station in the 3000 block of Bellflower Boulevard regarding a report of an accidental discharge of a firearm.
The injured man was identified as Long Beach resident Jeffrey Garcia and no one else was injured in the shooting. A handgun was recovered at the scene and booked into evidence, the Long Beach Police Department reported.
Garcia was taken to an area hospital for the non-life threatening gunshot wound.
"Both the preliminary and subsequent investigations for this incident will be thoroughly evaluated, just as it would for any other member of the public," the LBPD said in a statement released Saturday. "While the Department does not typically release detailed information regarding this type of incident, information is being released in a proactive effort to ensure openness within our community."
The former lawman was recently named in a separate investigation into threats made against a Black Lives Matter activist. Garcia is one of three former LBPD officers being investigated for allegedly writing violent threats against the activist on a private Facebook page for California law enforcement officers.
“At this time, it is not believed that this incident is related to that investigation,” the LBPD said.
Long Beach police asked anyone with information regarding Friday's incident to call them at 562-570-7244.