An off-duty northern Kentucky police officer accidentally shot himself in the stomach while out on a dinner date with his wife.
Officer Darryl Joett, of Erlanger police, had finished dinner with his wife Saturday night in Cincinnati’s Over-The-Rhine neighborhood when the gun discharged in a parking garage elevator, investigators said.
The bullet ricocheted off the elevator wall and struck Jouett in the abdomen, reported WCPO-TV.
He was taken to an area hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
"It's very unusual -- obviously you have somebody that's used to handling firearms," said Capt. Mike John, of Cincinnati police. "It's very unusual to see somebody discharge a firearm, accidentally, in a confined space like that. It's very unusual."
Erlanger police said Sunday that Jouett, a 25-year veteran, was adjusting his belt when his department-issued .40-caliber semiautomatic handgun fired in its holster.
Investigators aren’t sure whether the safety was on.
No other injuries were reported, and the shooting remains under investigation.
