Long Beach

Retired Long Beach Officer Under Investigation for Threats Against BLM Activist Accidentally Shoots Himself Inside Gas Station

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.

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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 Saturday.

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.

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 in a statement released Saturday.

Long Beach police asked anyone with information regarding Friday's incident to call them at 562-570-7244.

Copyright CNS - City News Service
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