A Haines Borough police officer apparently shot himself in the lower arm accidentally Tuesday during a firearms training session at the Haines Sportsman’s Association rifle range on Mud Bay Road.
Brayton Long, 52, was transported to Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center for treatment Tuesday but had been discharged by Wednesday evening, hospital officials said.
Josh Dryden, the borough’s acting police chief, this week offered few details, citing an active investigation of the incident by the department and Alaska State Troopers.
“(Long) seems to be doing fine under the circumstances. He did say that the round did not hit anything important,” Dryden said on the department’s Facebook page.
Dryden declined to say how the accident occurred, what specifically went wrong, what kind of gun was being fired, and who, if anyone, witnessed the shooting.
He said no foul play is suspected and that he expects Long to return to “light duty” soon. “Full duty, I do not know.”
The incident occurred around 1 p.m.
Hired by the department in November, Long worked for five years as a police officer in Skagway.
According to Long’s LinkedIn profile, he served in the U.S. Navy from 2001-2007 and worked as a deputy sheriff/corrections officer for the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department from 2000-2004.