An off-duty Michigan police officer shot himself and seriously wounded another man Saturday when a gun he was handling went off in a room at Hotel Chicago in River North, according to authorities.
Chicago police initially said the officer was in custody and charges were pending, but hours later said the incident was being investigated as an “accidental discharge” and the officer was no longer in custody.
Just after 3 p.m, the 23-year-old officer was handling a gun in a room at the hotel at 333 N. Dearborn St. when it discharged and struck him in his left hand and struck a 25-year-old man in the abdomen, police said.
Two firearms were recovered at the scene.
Paramedics took both men to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where the older man was listed in serious condition and the officer was listed in good condition, a spokesman for the fire department said.
