Police officer on vacation loses consciousness after stealing handgun and shooting himself - Saitama Prefectural Police

Shortly after 10 a.m. on the 4th, at a garbage disposal facility in Masubashi, Koshigaya City, Saitama Prefecture, a 37-year-old male police sergeant from the Kasuga Division Traffic Division of the prefectural police, who was on vacation, snatched a handgun from another police officer and shot himself in the head. The sergeant was taken to the hospital, but he was said to be unconscious at the time of transportation.

According to the prefectural police, at around 8:45 a.m. on the 4th, a male police sergeant called 110 and said, ``My son was kidnapped on his way to school.I want the police to come too.'' When four Koshigaya police officers rushed to the designated garbage disposal facility, they found the police sergeant alone. His son was not abducted, and when he tried to protect the sergeant and put him in the police car, a scuffle ensued, and he snatched the gun from the officer's waist and fired. There were no other injuries.

The sergeant was hired in 2010 and had been on leave since late last month.

Katsuya Saito, Chief Inspector of the Prefectural Police, said: There is a possibility of harm to third parties, and I think this is something that should be deeply reflected upon. Efforts will be made to investigate the cause and prevent recurrence.