Times of Eswatini

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MBABANE _ A police officer based in Lavumisa was accidental­ly shot by his colleague while at Lavumisa Police Station on Saturday morning.

Lavumisa is located in the south-east tip of Eswatini, in the Shiselweni 5egion, appro[imately km from 0babane.

The shot police officer is currently admitted to one of the country¶s maMor hospitals where he is reportedly fighting for his life. According to insiders, the police officers were from arresting suspects who had assaulted a resident in one of the areas under Lavumisa when upon arrival at the police station, one of the guns that were carried by the police officers was unintentio­nally discharged. One of the police officers was hit in the shoulder.

Discharge

An unintentio­nal discharge is when a firearm discharges (firing) at a time not intended by the user. An unintended discharge may be produced by an incompatib­ility between firearm design and usage, such as the phenomenon of cooking off a round in a closed bolt machine gun, a mechanical malfunctio­n as in the case of slamfire in an automatic weapon, or be user induced due to training issues or negligence.

8nintentio­nal shooting can lead to criminal charges, ranging from misdemeano­ur criminal negligence to felony-level manslaught­er. Accidental shootings that result in fatalities attract more serious charges.

“The officers were at the Lavumisa Police Station having arrested the accused person when the service rifle of one of them went off and hit his colleague in the upper shoulder,´ said the source. Chief Police ,nformation and Communicat­ions Officer Superinten­dent Phindile Vilakati confirmed the incident.

,n an almost similar incident last year, a police officer based at Hlatikhulu Police Station was accidental­ly shot by his colleague.

A map showing Lavumisa where a police officer was accidental­ly shot by his

 ?? (File pic) ?? Chief Police Informatio­n and Communicat­ions Officer Superinten­dent Phindile Vilakati confirmed the incident.
(File pic) Chief Police Informatio­n and Communicat­ions Officer Superinten­dent Phindile Vilakati confirmed the incident.
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 ?? (Google map) ?? colleague.
(Google map) colleague.

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